Cementing Heritage
by archangelraphaelsdaughter
Summary: Compare and Contrast the Following, Part III. Returned to Earth, Loki and the Avengers reconvene with SHIELD and are found to have been presented with another disc. They watch 'Captain America: The First Avenger'. The events depicted tell of the true powers of the Tesseract, as well as the beginnings of SHIELD and the Captain the team now follows.
1. Rites

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own the movie **_**Captain America: The First Avenger **_**or any of its characters, nor those of **_**MARVEL'S The Avengers**_** – I am just borrowing them for play.**

* * *

_**Cementing Heritage**_

**_-~S~-_**

_Chapter One: Rites_

The Avengers' return from the Realm Eternal was hailed with a lot of attention from SHIELD. The debriefings, explanations, and imminent paperwork filled the days as the organization noted every detail that had not been heard through Tony's earpiece as well as formalized a division for research on Ӕsir culture and hypotheses on directing the future negotiations to humanity's advantage. Pepper and Phil discussed the happenings of Stark Industries, production and issues theorized by the agent concerning the Board of Directors, Tony drawn to consult and sign the papers reneging SHIELD's control over the position in his company.

Loki, as stated, had fallen into a healing coma. Though the group was agitated at the turn advertising injury, Thor assured that it was the quickest way for him to regain his strength. Guard at his bedside rotated in his rooms on the 90th, one member of the team on watch at all times while the rest exhausted hours on the waterborne Helicarrier, Jarvis monitoring the god's state. Thor was demanded by Fury often, though was comfortable leaving his brother's side because of the general lack of threat now present, the lessened strain and therefore longer recovery period allowed, and his teammates' vigilant watch in his place in light of their own concerns. Aside from aiding with and explaining the culture of Asgard to SHIELD, the Director had use of the god for contributing to the generation of new terms of compensation for the contract with Loki.

With the Other, the Chitauri, and Thanos dead, and the Ӕsir renouncing their affiliation with him, the condition of defending Loki against them was lost in return for his services. Another point of persuasion had to be offered in exchange for the magic and advanced technology he had intimate knowledge of.

The belief held by Thor that Loki had nowhere to go and had bonded with the team was not a concrete enough situation for the World Security Council when dealing with the Trickster, no matter how weakened.

Almost a week of organization and reorientation was afforded before Loki stirred to the sound of a male muttering at his side. 'No, Tony- I said no! You can't use the Other Guy to clear the streets of skyscrapers… Because more would probably be torn down!...Tony, stop it – I'm busy… Yes, watching him…"

The god's eyes remained closed as he rose further into awareness, Bruce's voice recognized and his hearing now catching the billionaire's voice on the other end of the telephone line asking, _"Has there been any change?"_

"Not yet," he answered. "You have Jarvis ready to alert everyone when there is."

"_I have him set for that if he worsens or no one's paying attention_," he countered, advocating, _"Do you think he'll wake up sooner if I threaten to throw glitter on him?"_

"What are you, five?" Bruce hissed, failing to contain an amused tone.

"Do inform Anthony," Loki interjected, "that if I find a speck of glitter on my person he will find that his metal suit glows an obnoxious shade of pink."

"Loki!" he addressed in surprise as Tony swore, _'Fuck it worked – put me on speaker!'_

The god's eyes blinked open to the semi-familiar surroundings of his suite in the Tower, Bruce in the armchair that had been dragged from the common room to the side of his bed.

"How are you feeling?" he questioned.

"A great deal better, thank you," he replied.

"_Sure,"_ Tony drawled in disbelief.

"When I have reached the point that I'm rendered unconscious so to heal, my magic doesn't exactly allow me to awaken without having recovered some measure of strength so to defend myself," Loki explained. "What are you even doing?"

"_SHIELD's forced us into signing things and helping fix the city. Which, is stupid, as they've had, like, three weeks for this – and they're supposed to be this massive organization with unlimited resources, that come from my pocket, by the way-"_

"He was trying to find an excuse to avoid it," Bruce clarified.

"_I'm checking in – very worriedly," _he objected. _"And you just gave me a great excuse – so ha!... Shit, Phil's eyeing me…"_

"Your interpersonal relationships are very interesting," Loki remarked as he slowly levered himself up. _'You've no idea how intimidating his emotionless-face-that's-fooling-nobody is,' _Tony replied. When the movement upset neither balance nor pain ratio he shifted to move the covers from himself and place his legs over the edge of the mattress.

"Careful," Bruce warned. "Shouldn't you rest some more?"

"I need to bathe, and eat," he countered. "Are there any clothes I can borrow? I'm not going to waste energy conjuring or configuring anything."

"Don't worry about it – I'll find something," he offered as he exited, turning off the speakerphone on the cell he carried, "and there are a lot of leftovers I can reheat for you so you don't have to cook."

'Thank you' he heard as he shut the door behind him and raised the phone to his ear in the common.

"_If I was sick in bed would you cook and help dress me?" _Tony cooed.

"Well, you said you started carrying spare pants in your suit in case I transform, so it would be only fair," Bruce stated.

Tony laughed. _"Speaking of lack of clothing, your wardrobes are sinful – I'm making a note to take you all shopping. No one in my tower's going to be without clothes – unless by choice, or vote, or Naked Tuesdays."_

"Tony, there isn't going to be any public nudity," he argued with a flush.

"_I'll concede to that so long as private nudity includes four people or less."_

"No orgies either!"

"_That that has to be said is fantastic – I'm going to have Jarvis record and print this and stick it on the fridge… Seriously though, I'm heading back. And Phil's stalking me with paperwork for Loki – just so you know."_

"Alright."

He hung up and sighed, shaking his head before drawing his attention to Loki's needs. "Jarvis," he called, "are there any clothes that would fit Loki?"

"Both Mr. Odinson and Mr. Rogers' heights allow for a suitable replacement," the AI answered promptly, "though I would suggest the latter due to the more similar dimensions of their torsos."

"Thanks," he said before requesting, "Could you give me the number of the phone Tony gave him?"

"I believe Sir inserted it into your contacts' list, Dr. Banner."

'Oh.'

After the Captain agreed to lend Loki some clothing and Bruce had received permission from him to move into his rooms, he ventured to retrieve the articles (only to ask Jarvis his opinion on what Loki wore and have to call Thor for consent to relieve him of a pair of his pants). He returned to the level above and left the clothes on Loki's bed before searching through the fridge on his half for something to reheat.

When Tony arrived on their floor, the door to Bruce's half was open and he poked his head in to find the two eating a late lunch of Italian. Bruce sat on one side of the island working through the leftover spaghetti he had ordered two days before with his pale shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, Loki across from him eating the half lasagna spared the night before because they had ordered two for the group, grey t-shirt donned over black leather pants cut just below the knee.

"Grey cotton looks weird on you," Tony greeted as he joined them, detouring to the cupboards to grab a mug and then the coffeemaker Jarvis had turned on earlier to place it underneath.

"Steve doesn't have anything black," Bruce defended.

"It's only temporary," Loki reassured. "What's important is that I'm going to need more food – only a third of this is digesting, the majority converted into energy to more quickly heal my core."

"Okay then – pizza," Tony said. "Are we feeding you 'till you're full, or until your magic's healed up?"

"Both, though the second certainly won't be achieved today."

Fifteen minutes later, the time during spent with the two scientists avoiding interrogating Loki and instead conversing lightly with each other as he ate, the sound of the elevator signalled an arrival and Phil entered holding four boxes of pizza.

"Hey! Good call – I bet you're tipped more," Tony teased.

"The bill was sent to you," he retorted, placing the boxes on the surface of the island. Loki glanced lengthily at the additions until he finished the lasagna and was able to begin devouring the new fare.

After a few minutes, Loki asked searchingly, "What brings you here, Agent Coulson?"

"Director Fury sent me to check on you and ensure our end of the agreement was being upheld."

"And in hopes to renegotiate the contract, I assume?"

"What?" Bruce questioned. "What's wrong with it?"

"The one he signed before had SHIELD protecting him – but the Chitauri and Thanos are dead, and Asgard has thrown him to us-"

"-so there's nothing of substance offered for improving your understanding of magic, or my advancement of your technology," Loki concluded.

"Which is why SHIELD is proposing this," Phil professed, a pristine sheaf of paper removed from the inside of his suit jacket and held out.

Loki paused before accepting the item, Bruce and Tony conspicuously leaning over to read the revised segment under 'Compensation':

_-The impossibility of any and all reprimand/action by the Company in regards to affiliations and/or deeds against the party, its allies, their interests, property, and/or assets prior to the date of the Agreement first above written._

_-The aforementioned includes the defense of his person against the Company's competitors (i.e. those who would seek to terminate the covenant of this Agreement), any of whom might desire the enforcement of a penalty for the above activities._

Tony choked as Bruce gaped, Loki tilting his head in intrigue. _They are releasing me from any of the consequences from my part in the invasion? _Loki construed. He perused the rest of the document at a glance, the only other aspect modified a slight addition to 'Services' reading that he 'shall aid the Company in repairing any damage caused by either the direct or indirect action' of himself.

_The advantages for them with my continued aid far outweigh those otherwise, it would seem, _he thought, _especially now that I've a lessened number of enemies hostile towards me. Maintaining their prejudice towards how I arrived would only prove a hindrance to them, so they are offering a renewal of the relationship in hopes that it will be more than a temporary arrangement._

_The subtext of the added clause to my services to them indicates this… It may seem to be ensuring that I provide aid in repairing the damage the city has already sustained, but the tense covers all time periods. It's against this very agreement that I bring harm to anyone, so what are the circumstances in the future that would necessitate destruction and yet be of use to SHIELD? Well, working with the Avengers in defending Midgard, of course. Any property damage would decrease in significance if I was on hand to reverse it with my magic._

"Very interesting," Loki murmured.

Tony and Phil stared at him in the tense silence of consideration while Bruce fidgeted, returning to his seat to feign occupation with the crusted remains of food on his plate.

The god eventually exhaled a heavy sigh, proclaiming, "I should keep a pen around for things like this," as he held out a hand.

_**-~S~-**_

Phil departed for the Helicarrier after indulging Tony's inquisition concerning the relationship between Loki and SHIELD as now perceived by the Council, the god separating from the two as well to return to his rooms to rest. The rest of the team was led into Bruce's half when they were freed from the duties Fury had them occupied with, and notified of the circumstances of the new agreement.

"Cleared of all charges, can you believe it?" Tony asked incredulously.

"When the option was to lose another Ӕsir fighting with us and not knowing anything about magic? Yes," Natasha replied.

"Thank you for all you have done, my friends," Thor declared.

"He hasn't made it easy," Clint remarked, "but from that first disc we've all been thrown off."

"That he's been attacked and almost killed has changed things too," Bruce added with a shrug.

"Gotta hate that hero complex," Tony said with a smirk.

_**-~S~-**_

Primarily left to their own devices the following day, there was time for each Avenger to muse on the changes of schedule that would have to be applied now that Loki was conscious. "He is still healing, so he cannot display anything for Anthony and Bruce," Thor uttered, Steve having joined him.

"I'm sure Tony's thinking of simple questions for him," he sighed, "but you're right – he does have to rest."

"And eat – apparently they didn't expect him to consume as much as he did yesterday," he laughed.

"Loki probably isn't even up yet," Steve remarked after a glance revealed that just-before-noon was displayed on the kitchen appliances. "Do we have to wake him up so he eats?"

"We do – we should all dine together!" Thor proposed enthusiastically.

"Okay – I don't like that we're always separated anyways. Jarvis?"

"Yes, Mr. Rogers."

"Could you tell everyone we're cooking lunch and to join us, please?"

"Of course."

The resulting parties cooking ended up being Steve and Bruce, with Thor contributing to prep work. Because of the large group and impromptu gathering, it was decided that a couple of mass stir-fries would be easiest, utilizing most everything in the fridges of the floor. Chicken and vegetables in a teriyaki sauce was served first, followed shortly by a beef, potato, and onion barbeque combination. Clint, Natasha, Tony, and Bruce selected the former while Steve, Thor, and Loki chose the latter, though everyone tried each, and Loki intended to finish all that was left over.

"So, whose idea was this family-style thing?" Tony asked, having ceased eating first and was now sipping a glass of whiskey.

'Thor's,' Loki muttered as the god pronounced, "It was mine!"

"I wanted to talk to you all though," Steve commented. "Hold on."

The Captain exited to exchanged, questioning looks between those at his back before those still eating finished and stacked their plates on the counter, Loki drawing the remaining food onto his dish so the rest of the cookware could be removed from the surface of the island as well. Steve came back to his seat to place a slim object in front of them.

A disc.

"What the hell?!" Tony cursed as Clint swore under his breath.

"Where did you find it?" Natasha interrogated.

"The first was made by my mother and the Norns, the second, the Other," Thor reminded.

"Frigga gave it to me before we left Asgard," he answered.

* * *

_She pulled him aside, pressing a slim case into his hands. "You can see all that has been accomplished through knowledge of the past," she started, "this is yours._

"_It is your choice what will be done with it, but each of you has a beginning that defines who you are and what you bring to each other. Yours also shows that of the Tesseract, HYDRA, and SHIELD – and what escalated into the future of heroes and villains that Midgard now divides her powerful forces._

"_Reliving all that happened will open old wounds, but it will help them to heal. And help others in aiding you."_

* * *

"What does it show?" Loki asked.

"My past, apparently," he responded, a wariness in his expression when his eyes flicked onto the disc. "I'd rather SHIELD…not be a part of this one," Steve tentatively implored. "If anything important is told we can report it later."

"We don't have to watch it," Bruce offered.

"It's here," he objected. "Besides, we saw a lot of you two," he said with a gesture to the two gods.

"More team bonding, yay," Clint griped mockingly as they uncertainly moved into the common area, a long L-shaped couch situated in front of the flat screen television mounted on the wall across. Loki claimed the long chaise at one end, Thor beside him before Steve, Natasha folded in the corner. Clint perched on the arm of what served as the shorter end that Bruce sat on, Tony inserting the disc to the system for Jarvis to control before he nudged Bruce closer to Natasha and sprawled on the cushion left between him and the archer.

_A strong breeze whistled through the air before gathering into a howling wind that tossed heavy snow over the blanketed tundra._

Confused expressions overtook the faces of the group, the ambiguity of the setting unhelpful in marking time and place.

_Bright high beams shone weakly through the white-out, briefly illuminating a dark figure that began waving in front of the vehicle. The large truck slowed to a halt before the man insulated within an orange hooded, thick parka, gloves, and goggles, who propped up the staff he held topped with glowing orange mark to call attention to his stance._

_A door on either side swung out to allow the departure and approach of two others similarly dressed, though in black, and he asked them, "You the guys from Washington?"_

"_You get many other visitors out here?" one questioned rhetorically before the other interrogated,_

"_How long have you been on site?"_

"_Since this morning," he answered. "A Russian oil team called it in about eighteen hours ago."_

"_How come nobody spotted it before?"_

"_Really not that surprising," he explained, "this landscape's changing all the time. You got any idea what this thing is, exactly?" Another surveyor of the area strode in the same direction some distance to their right._

"_I dunno – it's probably a weather balloon."_

"_Haha, I don't think so," he laughed. "You know, we don't have the equipment for a job like this."_

"_How long before we can start craning it out?"_

"_I don't think you quite understand – you guys are going to need one hell of a crane!"_

_A sharp curve stuck out of the drifts, the wingtip of what was unmistakably an aircraft protruding from the buried remains. Orange markers dotted the air above the five walking its base, barely reaching the half point of the length revealed, a blue light swivelling from the explorations of a man that had climbed to travel the top running over the rim. The two newcomers gaped as they stared up at the size, marks set in the snow further behind in the outline of a behemoth, triangular plane._

Steve crossed his arms over his chest in recognition of the Valkyrie, the aircraft he had crashed, while the human viewers pursed their lips at recollecting the aftermath of the Captain's deeds. The two gods noted the others' reactions, but were unaware of the details of the timeline the disc would be moving between.

_As the sun set, bags of equipment were laid nearby to supplement constant work. The vehicle was parked and a mechanism overhanging from the back was distended to spin around, and around, pointed down and slicing gradually through the surface of the craft with a teal laser. The metal supports of the interior stretched cold and ice covered as the laser spun to imprint on the floor below, the circle of the ceiling finally falling to collapse with a clang, its edge smoldered and followed by flurries of snow and a cylinder of reflected daylight. The two repelled down one after the other, safety suits donned with enclosed visors and breathing apparatuses, powerful lights in hand._

"_Base, we're in," the lead reported to an immediate, 'Copy that.'_

_His head tilted for his eyes to follow the ray of light, tall frames whose welders spared material by hollowing out the unnecessary centers of beams columning the space. "What is this?" his companion queried as he switched on his appliance and shadowed him in exploring. They stepped over to what had been the control center, the glass panes coating the surface before it facing the snow below the surface of the ground instead of the skies it was designed for._

_They approached while keeping an eye on the play of light and shadow cast on the walls of the large hull, a stumble over a partially iced over hole prompting a 'Careful.' The empty chair of command was surrounded by a couple of feet of snow and ice, one of the men creeping closer with head tilted to the side in inspection of a patch alternating in colour. He crouched down and swiped his gloved hand over the surface to clear it._

"_Lieutenant," he called to the other's turning behind him. "What is it?" he asked as he drew near, twisting to address him before turning back._

"_My god," he uttered, light affixed on the object, stunned. "Base, get me a line to the colonel," he insisted. 'It's three am, sir,' was the reply before he proclaimed, "I don't care what time it is – this one's waited long enough."_

_A round shield was coated in ice on the floor, bright white star painted on navy blue, stripes of red and white circling around it._

"Do you think there's a reason the beginning is always separated from the rest?" Natasha asked.

"Showmanship," Tony muttered. "I have a feeling this is going to be depressing – and that we're going to need alcohol."

"I can't get drunk," Steve lamented. "And it's the middle of the day."

"If you cannot drink to ease your sorrow, then none of us shall," Thor decreed firmly.

_**Tønsberg, Norway**__  
MARCH 1942_

Loki raised an eyebrow at the name of the site that had been visited by the Ӕsir before.

_Gunshots popped in the otherwise serene night, clouded sky above shadowing the deserted cobbled streets, stone houses, and panting male that ran from the sounds of the fired rounds and a vibrating explosion. He darted through one of the wooden double doors of a monastery, locking it behind him as he warned in the native tongue, "They've come for it!"_

Steve furrowed his brow and leaned forward at the new scene.

_The bearded church keeper stepping down the stairs dismissed firmly in the same language, "They have before," as the younger man barred the entrance with a plank._

"_Not like this," he replied with an anxious gesture over his shoulder._

_The lit candles in the candelabra and torches dimly lit the area as he retorted, "Let them come. They'll never find it."_

_A grating sounded to the man casting his eyes over his shoulder, the elder glancing to the corners of the ceiling above as some pieces of stone broke from their supports and clattered to the floor. The younger backed away from the door as the building shook, chandelier, door, and artefacts rattling before the sound of a machine halted its movements outside. They breathed heavily in apprehension before scrambling back as the front wall and door within it were suddenly forced forward. The carved wood and slabs of stone crashed to the ground in clouds of dust, the man crying out as he was partially buried in debris._

_The forward-facing wall of a large claw remained in the gaping hole now open to the streets before beginning to retract, the old man moving forward to lift a squared stone with trembling hands to reveal the blooded skull and vacant eyes of the corpse of the other. Outside, tanks with wide tracks and piercing beams of light rolled to surround the monastery, a grey, supercharged V16 Coupé rolling to a rumbling stop with a chrome skull and six elegantly curved tentacles as a prominent hood ornament._

Steve scowled.

_Legs wrapped in leather boots stepped from the driver's side, thick coat snapping about them as they strode around the front of the car, the man's hands nonchalantly held behind his back._

_Inside, three soldiers struggled to push off the stone slab topping a sarcophagus at the order of their superior, who stood at the head in uniform, shouting in English, "Open it!" The church keeper watched with furrowed brow from the floor where he propped his dishevelled torso from the ground with his elbows, additional armed infantry at his other side as he cast his eyes over the haste of the men. "Quickly, before he gets-" he continued before abruptly cutting himself off at the entrance of a figure through the opening. He snapped his heels together as the three working turned in respect as well._

"Schmidt."

_Johann Schmidt made his way carefully over the debris with the headlights' illumination through the dust at his back as the troops under his command broke to either side before him and stood at attention. The church keeper stared silently with gradually widening eyes at the charged atmosphere developing with each step closer._

"_It has taken me a long time to find this place," he declared, German accent rounding his unhurried speech as the HYDRA emblem glinted from his lapel. "You should be commended," he snapped in admittance to the effort exerted, head lifting to unshadow his face from the brim of his visor hat. "Pick him up." The man was hauled to his feet and set before Schmidt, breathing heavily. "I think that you are a man of great vision," he began, straightening the other's coat, "and in this way we are much alike-"_

"_I am nothing like you," the elder countered with a fleeting smirk as he shook his head._

"_No, of course," he conceded, "but, what others see as superstition, you and I know to be a science."_

"_What you seek is just a legend-"_

"_Then why make such an effort to conceal it?" he questioned with a jerk of his head towards the sarcophagus. He turned to it and removed his hat as his boots sounded on the floor, handing the adornment to the officer to his right as he reached the sculpted stone. With braced stance and one forceful push of his palms the lid sailed off and toppled off the opposite side, skeletal remains revealed garbed in frayed clothing, rusted armour and sword, and a cube._

"That's not her," Thor observed.

_He reached in to grab the object from the curled bones of the hands, pastel blue unblemished, translucent insides stilled mist. "The Tesseract was the jewel of Odin's treasure room," Schmidt announced as he stared, turning to the church keeper as he allowed it to tumble from his fingers. It fractured into pieces easily, appearing to be crafted of ice to the surprise of the officer at his side. "It is not something one buries. But… I think it is close, yes?" he concluded._

"_I cannot help you."_

"_No. But maybe you can help your village," he posed. "You must have some friends out there, some little grandchildren, perhaps? I have no need for them to die." The man stared at him, appalled, before he turned to face the whir of the turret on top of the tank visible through the hole in the wall. He faced Schmidt again with resignation in his expression as he heard the gun lock onto some distant target, indicating with a motion of his chin the space behind the man._

_Schmidt spun and stepped towards the wall. "Yggdrasil," he pronounced in name of the depiction of the carving of an intricate, large tree, "the tree of the world – guardian of wisdom, and fate, also." His gaze was drawn onto a section of her roots, a coiled serpent wrapped around one*. He ran an index finger gloved in leather over its neck before pressing the eye of the sculpture with his thumb. The section was released and protruded slightly from the wall, his hands grasping the sides of the box as he turned. The church keeper stared as he shivered, Schmidt glancing up at him before reverting his interest._

_He lifted the lid with lips parted in anticipation, bright azure light streaming from within the confines. "And the Führer digs for trinkets in the desert…" he mused, awestruck at the power contained in the artefact now in his possession. He glanced up again before stating, "You have never seen this, have you?"_

"_It's not for the eyes of ordinary men," he declared._

"_Exactly," he concluded, pursing his mouth and shutting the lid. "Give the order to open fire," he commanded as he retrieved his hat and situated it upon his head, the officer moving to relay the order in German to the others._

"Bastard," Tony cursed.

"_Fool!" the church keeper yelled in anger, and Schmidt turned atop the debris. "You cannot control the power you hold. You will burn!"_

"_I already have," he announced, unimpressed, retrieving his gun from its holster. He shot the old man through the heart from his hip, returning the firearm in satisfaction before reaching to touch his jaw as he flexed it, a crack having sounded. Red blood had flecked onto the pin on his chest, the substance marring the silver and staining the material behind it as the fire of tanks echoed._

"Totally called it," Tony gritted again, finishing sarcastically, "the cheeriest of intros."

* * *

_**(*) Nidhogg: the serpent that chews on a root of Yggdrasil, the one connected to Nifleheim. This monster feeds on those guilty of murder, adultery, and oath-breaking – those who dwell in the Realm of the Dishonoured Dead, filled with mist and ice.**_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Published a bit early for you guys, who've been waiting so patiently. The beginning of Captain America!**

**Drop a review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Premier

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own the movie **_**Captain America: The First Avenger **_**or any of its characters, nor those of **_**MARVEL'S The Avengers**_** – I am just borrowing them for play.**

* * *

_**Cementing Heritage**_

**_-~S~-_**

_Chapter Two: Premier_

_The Brooklyn Bridge stretched high across the East River over the tug and steamboats plodding through the water, the Empire State and Chrysler Building reaching up into the pale blue of the sky over New York City. "O'Connell, Michael," sounded from an enlistment officer, followed by a 'Kaminsky, Henry,' to his folding of a paper as he stood. The men seated in rows within the registration office had stripped of their shirts and pants for inspection, many visages blocked by the wide spread of newspapers held in hand._

"Alright, let's see little Steve," Tony decreed, rubbing his hands together.

Truthfully, the Captain wasn't confident in his guess of how the team was going to react to the events of his past – before the serum. The story had been told, but his appearance had been ingrained in the minds of everyone that knew him; there was no one here who had any idea just how much smaller and how much of a hindrance he was before.

'_U-BOATS TORPEDO SHIP OFF VIRGINIA COAST,' the Manhattan Trirgraph declared as the next male in line remarked from behind the broad sheet, "Boy, a lot of guys getting killed over there."_

Loki tilted his head in recognition of Steve's voice, but the infirmity of the tenor differentiated it enough that no other in the room identified it.

'_NAZIS RETAKE ZHITOMIR' the Daily News informed from the paper alongside, 'Berlin Afire After Big Raid, Hit By 350 2-Ton Bombs.' 'Rogers, Steven,' sounded, and the larger newspaper was folded to the other man lowering his own obstruction and responding, "It kind of makes you think twice about enlisting, huh?"_

_Steve stood small and emaciated in contrast to those around him, placing the paper on his seat with collarbones sharp over his narrow chest. He answered in reply, "Nope," and strode towards the call._

He had prepared himself for their retorts, guardedly watchful as their expressions were stunned into ones of disbelief.

"You look like a hobbit," Tony remarked.

Clint snorted, "Maybe one after Saruman took over," as Natasha chided, 'Talk Tolkien another time.'

"It was the Depression – everyone was malnourished," Bruce defended.

"I had a lot of health problems, too," Steve finally interjected, the comments lacking the pity he had feared. Their opinions of him may change after everything was revealed, but he wasn't responsible for the body he was born into; what mattered were his actions.

Thor and Loki displayed the most severe reactions, only the barest details known to them of the Captain's history. It was a sobering thought, the realization, if only in the least, the lengths of the journey he had taken to reach the point where his strength and leadership were rival to those raised in Asgard. He had not been born of privilege and trained as a warrior; he had to fight for a place in the ranks of those perceived as worthier.

"_Rogers," the officer began from behind the podium a few had gathered in line in front of, Steve lifting his chin with a firm gaze. He glanced over the file before sweeping his eyes over the blond's much shorter form, raising an eyebrow before returning to the notes. "What'd your father die of?" he asked._

"_Mustard gas," he stated. "He was in the 107__th__ infantry – I was hoping I could be assigned there-"_

"_Your mother?" he interrupted._

"_She was a nurse, in a TB ward," Steve obliged. "Got hit, couldn't shake it."_

_His brows furrowed as he read the 'Summary of Patient Health Issues' presented: asthma, scarlet fever, sinusitis, chronic or frequent colds, high blood pressure, palpitation or pounding in heart, easy fatigability, heart trouble, nervous trouble of any sort, has had household contact with tuberculosis, parent/sibling with diabetes, cancer...' "Sorry, son," he pronounced as he raised his eyes._

"_Look, just give me a chance," he pleaded._

"_You'd be ineligible on your asthma alone."_

"_Is there anything you can do?"_

"_I'm doing it," he asserted, grabbing the large stamp from the inkpad. "I'm saving your life." A black 4F* was pressed onto the forms to Steve's lowered eyes._

"Rude," Tony snorted to Steve's small smile at the support.

He could now look back with more understanding towards the enlistment officers, afforded the position he was in. _I was a liability – I had realized the fact in training before the Serum._ He would have felt responsible for the deaths of any of the men in the squad, his weaknesses a handicap.

"_War continues to ravage Europe," an announcer broadcasted as a flag with the Nazi symbol fluttered in the wind. Bowed, armed soldiers trudged through ruined streets and collapsed buildings as smoke filled the air, before images were shown of well-dressed men marching in droves through an urban city, "But help is on the way!" A queue of males stood with their shirts off as a doctor walked to hold a stethoscope over their hearts, the strong-voice describing, "Every able bodied young man is lining up to serve his country."_

_The bright light of the projector streaked through the dim theater onto the screen amidst the clicking of the shutter, older couples and women rapt at the procession along with the occasional proud male, Steve in one of the rows with a hand curled at his chin in thought. "Even little Timmy is doing his part, collecting scrap metal." A young boy sorted through a landfill for metal objects, a troop of them then piling the garbage cans, sheets, and rods into a mound of the resource. "Nice work, Timmy."_

"_Who cares?" a man's voice jeered to tearful women's narrowed eyes and others' incredulous stares-_

Thor's expression grew incensed at the disrespect, the voice likely heightening the dejected feelings of the captured image of the Captain.

_-as he continued, "Play the movie already!"_

"_Hey, you wanna show some respect?" Steve whispered to the other's dismissive huff as the announcer continued, 'Meanwhile, overseas, our brave boys are showing the Axis powers that the price of freedom is never too high.' Injured and deceased soldiers were carried on stretchers in a display of insistence and sacrifice._

"_Let's go – get on with it!" the man shouted again, the crowd beginning to murmur in discontent. "Hey- just start the cartoon-"_

"_Hey, you wanna shut up?" Steve defied. The brunet two rows in front of him looked over his shoulder as he stood to face him, towering over Steve in opposition as the reel added, 'Together with Allied forces, we'll face any threat – no matter the size.'_

Clint scowled as Natasha permitted her eyelids to linger shut as she blinked as cover from the screen for a moment in dread of the envisioned confrontation.

_In the dead-end alley outside, the man lunged to punch Steve in the jaw, the attack throwing the blond as he grunted into the cardboard and garbage can in the corner behind._

The group winced, the hit bodily hurling Steve's small form.

_The thin metal dented at the impact of bone before Steve scrambled to his feet to face the other and was hit again._

Tony snarled as Bruce clenched his fists at his sides.

_When he whipped around, breathing heavily, he snatched the lid from one of the cans and held it before him as a shield._

A second of hope was afforded to his teammates at the defense-

_It was grabbed and tossed away before the man pulled his fist back to punch him once more._

-before they scowled and grit teeth at the beating they could take no action to prevent.

_Steve staggered to his feet leant against the wall, blinking to gather himself as he raised his small fists. "You just don't know when to give up, do you?" the taller mocked in amusement._

"_I can do this all day," he replied confidently, hopping forward to punch him for his arm to be deflected and to receive another hit to the face that flung him to sprawl over the concrete on his front._

"You often picked fights you couldn't win, then," Loki concluded through the tone issued with familiarity, despite Steve being at an evident disadvantage.

"It doesn't matter what my chances are," he remarked. "If I don't think something's right, I say something."

"He was bigger than you," Clint countered.

"Everyone was bigger than me." Steve's shoulders pulled back in defence as he crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes in scrutiny of the others' countenances of resistance because of the circumstances they were witnessing.

"_Hey!" a soldier called as he gripped the man's shoulder from behind and pulled to shove him away, towards the street. "Pick on someone your own size."_

Steve was torn between smiling and wincing at the sight of his friend.

_His dark olive service uniform was pristine, a newspaper folded under one arm as the visor of his tilted peaked cap shadowed his eyes._

_The other charged and threw a punch, the soldier dodging easily and responding in kind. He was spun and fell almost to the ground at the impact of the hit, and then received a kick to his behind that forced him from the scene._

_He leisurely turned and strolled back to Steve, commenting, "Sometimes I think you like getting punched."_

"It's a sad state on Midgard when no one intervenes except for someone who recognizes you," Loki mentioned blithely, sinking back into the couch cushions at the conclusion of the beating.

"It was just a part of life," Steve said, "I know back-alley fights took up half my time."

_Bent over his knees panting, Steve shook the dirt from his hand before he protested, "I had him on the ropes." He groaned as he raised a hand to his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut as he pushed away the pain._

_Bucky bent to pick up a piece of paper as he asked, "How many times is this?" He looked over the rejected application to question rhetorically, "Oh, you're from Paramus now?"_

"Smooth," Tony drawled in surprise and approval.

"_You know it's illegal to lie on the enlistment form. And seriously, Jersey?"_

_He halted his hissing and brushing dirt from his ill-fitted clothes to furrow his brow at the other's dress. "You get your orders?" he asked._

"_The 107__th__," Bucky reported with an apologetic sigh, "Sergeant James Barnes, shipping out for England first thing tomorrow."_

_Steve huffed in irritation and shook his head. "I should be going."_

_He dusted his palms off one another as Bucky watched, before the latter's mouth split in a grin and he grabbed Steve around the shoulders. "Come on, man," he encouraged. "My last night – gotta get you cleaned up," he muttered with an encompassing gesture as he released him._

"_Why? Where we going?"_

"_The future," he responded, handing over the paper. Steve gazed down at the large photograph of the Stark Industries globe, a firework erupting in the captured corner of the sky. 'WORLD EXPOSITION OF TOMORROW,' 1943._

"This is really disorienting," Bruce remarked at the brazen year pronounced on the black and white print.

"It'll be easier when I look like this," Steve suggested with a defenceless shrug.

"Nah, your attitude's all there," Tony objected to his shock, though his spine was tense. "It's everything else."

"_I don't see what the problem is," Bucky said as the frame of the welded globe rose behind a roller coaster that streaked past, fireworks illuminating the dark sky as he and Steve descended a row of steps. Crowds were gathered in the courts before the tower, suits, uniforms, hats, umbrellas, and canes the mark of men and skirts, blouses, dresses, and softer caps that of women. "You're about to be the last eligible man in New York-" he pointed out, "-you know there's three and a half million women here?"_

"_Well, I'd settle for just one," he retorted._

"_Good thing I took care of that," Bucky proclaimed absentmindedly as a smirk erupted and he rose a hand in a wave. Two women at the base of one of the statues of trumpeters had caught his eye, one waving back as she cried, 'Hey Bucky!'_

_Steve's eyes widened and steps faltered before he shot the other an unimpressed look. He composed himself and asked, "What'd you tell her about me?"_

_He faced him with a teasing smile as he said, "Only the good stuff," Steve adjusting his bangs with a sigh._

"Cute," Natasha stated at the situation, smirks on the others' lips as Steve flushed.

"_Welcome to the Modern Marvels pavilion," the announcer over the PA greeted from overhead, "and the World of Tomorrow." Stark Industries was in red lettering over a darkened stage in the background as 'A greater world, a better world,' echoed overhead, the Tell-O-Vision, Earth's Treasure, and Dr. Phineas Horton's The Synthetic Man shining above bright daises. _

_The tempo of the music changed into that of an attention-grabbing swing tune as suddenly the masses started chatting, a women squealing, 'Howard Stark – let's go see him!'_

Tony's jaw clenched as he exhaled, Clint, Natasha, and Loki's eyes discreetly skimming over his form.

_The female between Bucky and her friend said excitedly, "Oh, my God, it's starting!" looking to them both before pulling them by the hands in the direction of the stage with a giggle._

_Steve trailed behind as they weaved through the applauding crowd before darting to stand behind them as a woman heralded, "Ladies and gentlemen, Mister Howard Stark!"_

_The stage was lit with spotlights on the center, a cherry 1940 Chevy Tudor behind five showgirls in ladies' suits over shorts, top hats and heels, turning to the man entering stage left. He hopped into view before sauntering in a tailored suit to hand his top hat to the woman who approached with the microphone, placing a lingering kiss to her lips and then stepping back with the mike as she trot off with a smile. One of the crowd called, 'I love you, Howard!' as he wiped the lipstick from his mouth with a handkerchief, the girls rounding the car, his dark hair and mustache neat as he charmingly smiled at the congregation._

"You look very much like him," Thor observed, not mentioning that the entrance displayed parallels of character. Tony merely winced. The blond sensed much discomfort regarding the man's relationship with his father through the passing comments he had caught, and further from some of Loki's expressions in response to the same, but even without detail it seemed to be a topic avoided by the group. _Wounds left to fester cannot heal, _he thought.

"_Ladies and gentlemen," he began, Steve offering a bit of his concession snack to his date to be looked at in disbelief before she turned back to the display-_

"Cold shoulder," Clint jeered lightly, detracting some from both Loki and Tony's dwelling on Howard.

_-"what if I told you, that in just a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all?" The audience gasped as the women removed the four wheels from the vehicle to expose the devices that had been covered, Howard grasping the pole of the podium behind with wires that ran to the machines. 'Yes – thanks Mandy,' he remarked as one of the girls passed. "With Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology, you'll be able to do just that."_

_He turned a knob and slowly raised a lever on the control panel to whirring, the music building as the car rose to hover from the surface of the stage. 'Holy cow,' Bucky uttered as the people gaped, Howard smiling in pride as he held out his hand to capture the demonstration._

"Were those plans a source for your repulsor technology?" Bruce asked to Tony's nod.

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the screen and asked, "Where did that car disappear to?"

"Phil's actually got the second model of it," Tony muttered before smirking feebly and adding, "Calls her Lola."

_Suddenly one of the devices started sparking, and then the technology failed for the automobile to fall back onto the flooring to wincing and turning from the clatter. After a stunned moment the audience clapped at the presentation regardless, Howard recovering, "I did say a few years, didn't I?" with a weak smile through his discomfort._

Tony revelled at the failure, posture easing slightly.

_Steve turned away to idly examine the other exhibits when over the heads of the crowd his gaze found a poster of Uncle Sam, emblazoned, 'I WANT YOU for the U.S. Army – Enlist Now.'_

_Howard laughed haltingly in embarrassment above as Bucky suggested, "Hey, Steve, what do you say we treat these girls…" He trailed off as he turned to find his friend absent._

"Here we go – history in the making," Tony proclaimed.

_The United States Armed Services recruitment building stood with American flags littering the roof waving in the wind, groups passing by in front while inside an encouraging depiction of soldiers stood saluting with 'Enlist Now' across the bottom. The foremost figure had a darkened face, a male standing on a pressure pad before it shining a light and reflecting his own face back at him in the combat uniform. 'Come on, soldier,' a female laughed as she dragged him from the illusion, Steve moving to replace him to find his face appearing a foot below where it should due to his lesser height._

Thor and Loki frowned at the evident importance of stature, a reminder that each Realm had its own divisions based on gender, class, or other attributes for any success to be achieved.

"_Come on," Bucky prodded as he pushed the back of his shoulder, "you're kinda missing the point of a double date – we're taking the girls dancing."_

"_You go ahead, I'll catch up with you," he responded as he placed his hands in his pockets, head lowering for a moment before he looked back up to the distant females._

_Bucky gazed at him solemnly for a second before turning to fully face him, questioning, "You're really gonna do this again?"_

"_Well it's a fair, I'm gonna try my luck-"_

"_As who, Steve from Ohio? They'll catch you – worse, they'll actually take you."_

"_Look, I know you don't think I can do this but I've told you-"_

"_This isn't a back alley, Steve, it's war."_

_A balding man slowed at the other end of the hall at their argument, 'I know it's a war, you don't have to tell me it's a war-' facial hair unshaven and dark below the wire frame glasses he watched through. 'Why are you so keen to fight? There're so many important jobs-'_

"_What do you want me to do, collect scrap metal-" 'Yes-' "in my little red wagon?" '-why not?'_

Loki sneered at the snub.

"_I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky," Steve fought. "Bucky, come on, there are men laying down their lives – I got no right to do any less than them._

"_That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me."_

"_Right," he drawled, skeptically posing, "'Cause you got nothing to prove."_

The group was torn between anger at Bucky's disapproval and commiseration with his concern; Steve, for all his inner strength, was still very small.

_The man observed as the two stared at each other, at an impasse before one of the girls called, "Hey Sarge, are we going dancing?"_

"_Yes we are," Bucky sung in answer as he turned to open his arms in invitation of them and the event. He faced Steve and sighed in resignation, stepping away. "Don't do anything stupid until I get back," he implored._

"_How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you," he remarked._

Tony snorted in amusement as others smiled.

_Bucky shook his head and strode back to him, stating, "You're a punk," as Steve said, 'Jerk.' They embraced tightly before Bucky departed again._

"_Be careful," Steve requested, calling, "Don't win the war 'till I get there."_

_Bucky turned to snap his heels together and salute him before walking down the steps. 'Come on, girls,' he bade, 'they're playing our song.'_

_Steve walked further into the building, the elder man lowering his head as he passed before noting his passage with an interested stare. He glanced forward again before the edges of his open mouth quirked upwards and he shadowed him._

"Who is that?" Thor asked.

"Dr. Erskine," Steve answered. "He gave me a way in."

_Steve sat in an examination room unbuttoning the cuffs of his sleeves when a nurse entered the curtained area and whispered instruction to the doctor to Steve's intent notice. He nodded as she left again, ordering, "Wait here."_

"_Is there a problem?"_

"_Just wait here."_

_Steve sat on the medical table with the optical testing chart on the wall to his left and a warning on his right that he turned back to read. 'It is illegal to falsify your enlistment form.'_

Bruce furrowed his brow at the realization of risk.

_His eyes darted from side to side before he stood and moved to the chair in the corner, pulling on his shoes. A military police officer entered to stand at the exit, Steve righting himself to warily meet his gaze._

_The older man that had been watching him entered next, and dismissed the other with a German-accented, 'Thank you.' "So, you want to go overseas – kill some Nazis," he began, casually paging through a file._

The occupants of the room raised their eyebrows in astonishment.

"_Excuse me?" Steve responded._

"_Dr. Abraham Erskine," he introduced. "I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve."_

"_Steve Rogers," he answered, accepting the handshake. He nodded in acceptance as he stepped over to the medical table, his file open before him. "Where are you from?"_

"_Queens," Erskine replied, "73__rd__ Street and Utopia Parkway." He adjusted his glasses as he added dismissively, "Before that, Germany." He looked to him again. "This troubles you?"_

"_No," Steve said._

"_Where are you from, Mr. Rogers, hm?" he asked, fists curled on the edge of the surface before him. "Is it New Haven? Or Paramus? Five exams, in five different cities."_

"_That might not be the right file-" he objected, attempting to appear unruffled._

Loki smirked at his bid at lying.

"_No, it's not the exams I'm interested in – it's the five tries," Erskine proclaimed, closing and picking up the folder. "But you didn't answer my question: do you want to kill Nazis?"_

_Steve glanced away before asking, "Is this a test?"_

"_Yes," he said._

Chuckles were muffled.

"_I don't want to kill anyone," he declared. "I don't like bullies – I don't care where they're from."_

_Erskine nodded with a small smile. "Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war, maybe what we need now is a little guy, huh?" Steve exhaled slowly, Erskine continuing, "I can offer you a chance – only a chance."_

_He exited to Steve stooping to grab his jacket and following, vowing, "I'll take it."_

"_Good." He took the file to the desk and questioned, "So where is the little guy from? Actually."_

"_Brooklyn," he said with a smirk._

_Erskine stamped the papers and closed the folder, extending, "Congratulations, soldier," as he walked away._

_Steve opened the file and gazed at the box in the corner, 1A* inked within it. He inhaled before exhaling heavily._

"And so it begins."

* * *

_**(*) Classes established for the draft in the 40s:  
Class 1A are those medically qualified for duty in all respects  
Class 2S are those qualified but had a student deferment  
Class 3A are those with some medical defects which disqualifies from full active service (deployment to combat theaters) but allows fulfillment of some duties (guarding fuel depots)  
Class 4F are those with one or more medical conditions and disqualifies from serving**_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: There will be a certain lack of reaction (aside from those regarding unknown aspects/events) and focus on Steve during the film simply due to the revelation of the degree of trauma and coping only being apparent AFTER the film. Immediately after, because of Steve's forced visualization of his past. The construction of **_**Thor**_** was constant reaction and change in perspective of Loki, and with **_**The Avengers**_** there was a less interesting review and continual uprooting by physical attacks. Here, there will be less change in perspective and just simply the film being informative until AFTERWARDS when the reality of Steve's situation sets in and the group helps him cope with it all.**

**Drop a review and let me know what you think!**


	3. Marching

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own the movie _Captain America: The First Avenger _or any of its characters, nor those of _MARVEL'S The Avengers_ – I am just borrowing them for play.**

* * *

**_Cementing Heritage_**

**_-~S~-_**

_Chapter Three: Marching_

_The wind tore noisily through the snow-capped mountain range under the pale sky, a large sturdy window in one of the rock faces._

Steve furrowed his brow slightly in question at the change in scenery.

_On the interior, Schmidt strode across the space as he asked, "Are you ready, Dr. Zola?"_

He breathed deeply as glances flit onto his countenance, Tony and Bruce leaning forward slightly at the scientific paraphernalia littering the shown vicinity.

_Tables of equipment were arranged covered in wiring, intricate devices, and monitors as a round display showed an upturned nose and eyes behind round glasses. "My machine requires the most delicate calibration," he replied, the view that of the lens the scientist was examining with donned grey lab coat and gloves. "Forgive me if I seem overcautious."_

_"And are you certain that those conductors of yours can withstand the energy surge long enough for transference?" he interrogated, briefly glancing over with a gesture of the photograph he had picked up from the work surface in front of him. Sculptures of the Tesseract were displayed in the images he laid over a large tome, presenting another picture of the Cube._

_"With this artifact… I am certain of nothing," Zola answered, turning towards him. "I fear it may not work at all."_

_Schmidt stepped deliberately over to the surface between them, the box between his hands showing the carving of a serpent. He set it down to Zola's rapt and wary stare, then lifted the lid with his gloved hands to a bright azure light shining into the dim space. Zola scrambled to remove his glasses and replace them with tinted protective lenses as Schmidt lifted a metal handle from which four long rods shot downward, sliding it into the container's confines._

_The appliance lifted the blindingly bright Tesseract as Schmidt raised his arm and moved to the readied device, lowering the Cube into the central hub and twisting the handle to lock it in place beneath. The blue glowed through the spaces of the mechanism as it hummed, Zola announcing the energy captured as it read on the console before him, "Twenty percent."_

Loki gathered himself to cross a leg beneath the other and lean forward, elbow raised on bent knee and hand at his mouth in thought.

_"Forty," he amended as he twisted the knob so to increase managing input. "Sixty…_

_"Stabilizing at seventy percent."_

_Schmidt covered the few steps between them to Zola moving from the controls, the man announcing, "I have not come all this way for safety, Doctor," as he turned the regulators to maximum._

"Here's to him blowing himself up," Tony voiced with exaggerated finger-crossing on both hands, the remark endorsing a more encouraging future of the war and accomplishing a huff of laughter from Steve.

_The gaps in the machine pulsed with azure as sparks of the energy darted over the thick wires before coalescing through and over the cables running along the floor with a snap. The table of controls was overwhelmed with the power to echoing whines and cracks, the Cube's force skirting over the floors, up the walls, across the windows, along the ceiling, vibrating in the air before shorting out to sparking equipment._

_After a second of silence, Zola asked quietly, "What was that?"_

_Schmidt turned him by the shoulders to say, "I must congratulate you, Arnim," as he pointed. The energy of the Tesseract hummed in a rectangular prism that the man approached gingerly. "Your designs do not disappoint – though they may require some slight reinforcement."_

_"The exchange is stable," Zola stated in awe. "Amazing. The energy we have just collected could power my designs- all my designs." The inspiring apparatus containing the Cube flashed as he removed his glasses to gaze in its direction. "This will change the war."_

_"Dr. Zola, this will change the world."_

"HYDRA _was_ the source for SHIELD's Tesseract-based weapons development," Bruce responded.

"Indeed," Loki commented. "The alignment with her power also altered the direction your technology would have developed otherwise."

"What was it heading to before?" Clint asked.

"I don't know, only that each Realm evolves a different area of study due to environments, interests, and peoples."

"We have been involved in Midgard's affairs for a long time though," Thor interrupted.

"Yes, our interference was likely to affect things anyway," Loki concluded in acquiesce.

_On the grounds of the training camp, soldiers stood loosely in a line donning their green field uniforms with hard helmets strapped under their chins, an officer leading a group behind with a commanding, 'Ready, exercise!' As others looked at their surroundings and dithered, Steve gazed forward patiently as he waited. "Recruits, attention!" a sharp female voice called abruptly, the line of arrivals straightening their backs and lifting their chins._

_"Gentlemen, I am Agent Carter," she announced as she strode in front of them in her olive service uniform, short brown hair pinned back from her face as a man carried a crate of clipboards and papers behind her. "I supervise all operations for this division."_

Loki and Thor wondered at her station, the opposition against Steve before seemingly clearly establishing the position of appearance and gender roles in the time. _Of course, an acquaintance with her may have been indirectly involved in the decision to provide him the oppourtunity, _Loki considered.

_"What's with the accent, Queen Victoria?" one interrupted. She slowed to a stop before him as he jeered, "I thought I was signing up for the US army."_

Natasha thought his daring was only given voice due to her gender, considering the disregard of her rank.

_"What's your name, soldier?"_

_"Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty," he quipped._

_"Step forward, Hodge," she replied promptly. He obeyed to exaggerated looks at the others. "Put your right foot forward."_

_"Mm, we gonna wrestle?" he asked as he followed, sheets handed out along the line as Steve darted a disgruntled glance to him. "'Cause I got a few moves I know you'll like." He winked._

_Peggy reeled back to punch him across the nose, the force of the hit spinning him to land on the ground on his front._

"Ha," Tony derided to the others' self-satisfied smiles.

_Steve contained a laugh as he smirked, a vehicle pulling up and an older man in a tan field uniform with stiff leather jacket overtop calling, "Agent Carter."_

_She spun to address, "Colonel Phillips."_

_"I can see that you are breaking in the candidates – that's good," he said as he approached, Erskine behind in a brown suit._

Natasha nodded in approval of his support of her place.

_He looked down at the man getting to his feet and reprimanded, "Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand in that line at attention until somebody comes tells you what to do."_

_"Yes, sir!" he answered gruffly, tilting his chin up and sniffing at the blood dripping from his nose._

"Hope that one has more coming to him," Clint muttered.

_He paused for a moment before directing at the lineup as he walked, "General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best men." His gaze fell on Steve and he cast a disbelieving look at Erskine who merely returned his attention to the group, and then he continued long-sufferingly, "And because they are going to get better. Much better." Steve's eyes flit after Phillips as he turned away and he quirked an eyebrow._

Tony snorted a laugh.

**_"The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world." _**_Steve sat on his bed in the dormitories with dog tags hanging from his neck, unpacking his suitcase and lifting books on strategy and warfare out into his hands as the other males in the room noisily conversed and jostled each other._

**_"Our goal is to create the best army in history-" _**_A whistle blew to the recruits climbing up a rope netting that was vertically anchored, Steve gasping as his elbows and knees jerked in their struggle to support him. **"-but, every army starts with one man."** His legs became tangled and he fell back, clambering to regain his grip before losing his hold and hanging upside down to the officer ordering, 'Rogers, get off of there!' while the others laughed._

Loki clenched his jaw at the ostracizing, the exclusion on account of imprecise standardized testing never lessening in maliciousness.

**_"At the end of this week, we will choose that man." _**_Steve crawled under beams wrapped in coils of barbed wire with his rifle held between his hands. 'Let's go!' ** "He will be the first, in a new breed of, super soldier."** Hodge turned to look back before kicking at one of the supports, the structure partially falling to collapse on top of Steve._

"That is dishonourable," Thor declared.

"It's fine," Steve shrugged, "and nothing new."

Loki and Tony narrowed their eyes as Bruce and Clint shook their heads, incredulous.

_Laughter mocked his position as he winced, instructor moving from his conversation with Peggy to aid amidst chiding, 'Rogers! Get that rifle out of the mud!'_

**_"And they will personally escort Adoft Hitler to the gates of Hell,"_**_ Phillips finished._

_"Pick up the pace, ladies!" the officer compelled as the recruits jogged along a worn dirt path, the shade of the trees intermittently covering the road. A flag flapped overhead declaring, 'NULLI SECUNDUS, 1914-1942, CAMP LEHIGH,' around a laurel wreath encircling a star. "Let's go, let's go – double time!" Peggy placed the pencil in hand between her teeth as she flipped back the covering of a clipboard and browsed through the pages, twisting to observe the advance just as the man beside her, the two seated in a parked vehicle. "Come on! Faster! Faster! Move! Move! Squad, halt!" The troop skid to a stop beside the car, Steve a few meters behind the ranks bending over to brace his hands on his knees as he panted._

"Did you have an inhaler on you?" Bruce questioned in concern. "You had asthma."

"A what?" Steve asked, confused.

Tony was speechless for a second before inquiring, "Jarv, when was the inhaler created?"

"The first Metered-Dose Inhaler for asthma medication was developed in 1955," the AI responded promptly.

"The docs had me use a squeeze bulb thing for adrenaline chloride* in hospital, but it wasn't like I could carry it or the drug around," Steve explained.

Tony flinched at facing the reality of the outdated technology the Captain grew up with, reassuring, "I'll take care of you if your lungs seize up."

"They're not going to-"

"I'll take care of it!"

"Alright," Steve accepted with a small smile.

_"That flag means we're only at the halfway point. First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Carter." Steve adjusted the brim of his helmet as he looked up to the flag. "Move, move!" The men rushed en-mass with encouraging shouts: 'Let's get it!' They scrambled to push one another up and yank him back down, the officer shouting, "Come on, get up there! If that's all you got, this army's in trouble!" Hodge latched onto the pole and began to tug himself skyward, "Get up there, Hodge! Come on, get up there!" before sliding back to the ground with his grip squealing. The group surged to replace him. 'Let me try!'_

_"Nobody's got that flag in seventeen years!" he proclaimed with arms crossed over his chest. "Now fall back into line! Come on, fall in! Let's go – get back into formation!" They abandoned the flag pole with groans and trot to arrange themselves as Steve walked to the base of the pole, looking at the base and then up in consideration. "Rogers! I said fall in!" the instructor bellowed._

_Steve bent to lift the pin from the end of the strut securing the pole upright, then worked it out from the other side to it swinging to land heavily on the ground with a wail of metal._

"Booyah!" Tony cried as Clint hooted.

"Shows how rare common sense is in men," Natasha remarked.

_He tossed the implements aside and marched to remove the flag from the top, Peggy licking her lips with a smirk as her companion turned on the engine. "Thank you, sir," Steve said breathlessly as he handed the material into his hands, then he climbed into the back of the vehicle to Peggy's smile and others' indignant huffing. He smiled at her amused turn towards him._

Chuckles were rampant at his haughtiness.

_"Faster, ladies – come on," Peggy cajoled as the squad determinedly worked push-ups from the ground, stripped of their jackets and sweating through their white t-shirts underneath the sun. "My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul." Steve grit his teeth in exertion as he lifted his shoulders and chest slower, without the rest of the form of the movement. "Move it!"_

"I'm not going to say anything about that," Tony announced.

"Because I can pick you up with one arm now?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Or because he can't do any," Clint interjected.

"I can do push-ups better than that – but I'm not going to challenge any of you," Tony justified. "'Cept Brucie."

"I can do push-ups," he protested.

"But I'd be able to beat you – not these beefcakes or the two assassins here."

"What did you just refer to me as?" Thor asked, puzzled.

"It sounded like a cake made out of beef," Loki ruminated as Steve shared the gods' bewilderment.

Tony huffed a chuckle before grinning widely. "It means you've got the layers of a cow."

Steve and Thor furrowed their brows further as Loki narrowed his eyes and stated, "I don't think that's what it means."

"Slang's confusing," Clint said. "It means you're ripped."

"-muscled," Bruce clarified with a roll of his eyes.

_"You're not really thinking about picking Rogers, are you?" Phillips interrogated as he approached with Erskine at his side._

_"I am more than just thinking about it – he is a clear choice," he answered as he adjusted his glasses._

_"When you brought a ninety-pound asthmatic onto my army base, I let it slide – I thought, 'What the hell?' Maybe he'd be useful to you, like a gerbil – I never thought you'd pick him."_

Steve pursed his lips.

_'Up,' Peggy ordered as they slowed. 'Jumping jacks.' Phillips detailed, "You stick a needle in that kid's arm, it's gonna go right through him." 'Come on, girls,' Peggy called. "Look at that," he uttered as he stared, Steve's arms limp as he threw them through the air while he panted. "He's making me cry."_

Tony snickered before half-heartedly apologizing.

_"I am looking for qualities beyond the physical," Erskine insisted._

_"Do you know how long it took to set up this project?" 'Yeah, I know.' "All the groveling I had to do in front of Senator What's-his-name's committees?"_

_"Brandt – yes, I know. I am well aware of your efforts."_

_"Then throw me a bone," he implored. "Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast, he obeys orders – he's a soldier."_

_"He is a bully."_

_"You don't win wars with niceness, Doctor," he countered, glancing behind him before moving around. "You win wars-" he began, lifting a grenade from one of the boxes of supplies stacked in the back of the truck and removing the pin, "-with guts." He flicked the release from the top and lobbed it towards the men, screaming, "Grenade!"_

Bruce jerked as Clint, Loki, Natasha, and Tony jolted forward at the situation.

_The group whipped their heads to the object bouncing along the ground and ran from the scene with shouted, 'Move, move, move!' to find cover. Steve rushed headlong and threw himself on top of it as Peggy dashed forward as well, yelling, "Get away!" as he curled into the fetal position around it. "Get back!"_

_Hodge peered over the shelter he had found as Steve lay tense with his eyes squeezed shut, the minute passing before he uncurled in disbelief and looked around. "It was a dummy grenade," an officer informed. "All clear, back in formation."_

"What was it supposed to do?" Thor asked.

"Blow up," Tony said to the blond's shock.

_Phillips sighed as Peggy stared at him, Steve asking as he breathed heavily, "Is this a test?"_

_Phillips turned to Erskine, who shrugged self-assuredly, then abandoned his opposition with a feeble, "He's still skinny," before striding away. Erskine smiled._

"Well, there you have it," Tony professed, "proved yourself to another one."

Disregarding the coincidences that led to Erskine recognizing his drive, Steve's benevolence and perseverance are traits so powerful within him that they push back against anyone who disbelieves.

_Steve sat on his assigned bed with shut case beyond the footboard, books laid on top and in his hands as he read. A knock sounded to him turning, the door to the room opened with Erskine stepping in._

_"May I?"_

_"Yeah," he responded._

_"Can't sleep?" Erskine asked._

_"I got the jitters, I guess."_

_He laughed as he set a couple of glasses by the books, saying, "Me too."_

_As he folded the bedding from the adjacent bed and Steve put his book aside, the blond began, "Can I ask you a question?"_

_"Just one?" Erskine replied as he sat with bottle in hand._

_"Why me?"_

_"…I suppose that is the only question that matters."_

The occupants of the room gazed rapt in intrigue while Steve's smile lingered bittersweet.

_They sat in silence for a minute before he leant the bottle back and displayed the label. "This is from Augsburg – my city. So many people forget that the first country the Nazis invaded was their own._

_"You know, after the last war, my people struggled- They felt weak, they felt small – and then Hitler comes along with the marching and the big show and the flags, and the…" He gestured in continuation before adjusting his glasses. "And he- he hears of me, my work, and he finds me and he says, 'You.' He says, 'You will make us strong.' Well, I am not interested." He placed the bottle on the floor._

Pairs of eyebrows rose.

_"So, he sends the head of HYDRA, his research division – a brilliant scientist by the name of Johann Schmidt." He corrects his lenses again. "Now, Schmidt is a member of the inner circle, and he is ambitious._

**_"He and Hitler share a passion for occult power and Teutonic myth."_**_ Schmidt walked with posture firm and lips pursed before the Nazi flag, visor shadowing his brow, before researching ancient legends on papyrus manuscripts._

_"Hitler uses his fantasies to inspire his followers," Erskine described, "but for Schmidt, it is not fantasy. For him, it is real._

**_"He has become convinced that there is a great power hidden in the earth," _**_carvings encircled with Norse runes were before his gaze,** "left here by the gods – waiting to be seized by a superior man. So when he hears about my formula, and what it can do, he cannot resist." **Schmidt moved around Erskine, demanding, gesturing to himself, as the doctor shook his head. Continued refusing when Schmidt held a gun pointed from his hip. **"Schmidt must become that superior man." **He lay in a chair and injected a serum into his arm, clenching his fist and bending it towards himself as he breathed._

_"Did it make him stronger?" Steve questioned._

_"Yeah," he responded with an open-mouthed smirk, **"but, there were other effects." **Agonizing fire spread as Schmidt trembled and screamed, thrashing._

Bruce winced.

_"The serum was not ready, but more important, the man._

_"The serum amplifies everything that is inside, so good, becomes great – bad, becomes worse."_

Bruce recoiled.

"Hey," Tony called with a nudge of the scientist, "that was totally different."

Natasha nodded and defended, "You were working with gamma radiation – you didn't have Erskine's serum as a base to work from."

He hummed in nonverbal agreement, but lifted his feet onto the edge of the couch cushion to draw his knees to his chest to Tony's frown.

_He stared at him before pronouncing, "This is why you were chosen. Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power. But a weak man, knows the value of strength, and knows compassion."_

_"Thanks, I think," he said with furrowed brow before smirking._

_Erskine gestured beckoningly to the glasses as he picked up the bottle, Steve separating the two and holding them between them. "Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing," he started as he poured the alcohol. "That you will stay who you are-" he took one glass to cradle in his hand, then pointed at Steve's heart, "-not a perfect soldier, but a good man."_

Thor struck his shoulder in camaraderie with a smile, but at the thought of the Captain's model of a 'good' man the others reflected on their own persons falling short of that adjective.

_Steve smiled before inhaling and toasting, "To the little guys."_

_He laughed before they raised their drinks to their lips, then suddenly Erskine faltered and said, "No no- Wait, wait – what I am doing?" He removed the glass from Steve's hand. "You have procedure tomorrow, no fluids."_

_"Oh, alright, we'll drink it after," he agreed as Erskine poured the alcohol into one glass._

_"No, I don't have procedure tomorrow," he countered, gesticulating to himself. "Drink it after? I drink it now." Steve smiled._

"Nice," Clint expressed in amusement.

_The needle sat as the record spun, the player emitting Richard Wagner's composition of Die Walküre** as Zola entered the space filled with his scientific instruments. He slowed with furrowed brow and eyes casting uncertainly around before a gloved hand switched off the lights. The darkened figure standing behind the desk spoke, Schmidt asking, "Is there something in particular you need?"_

_Zola lowered his gaze before looking at the scarlet and crimson palate to the right of a jacketed painter nearby, brush posed above the canvas. "I, uh, I understand you found him," he stated, newspaper telling of the 'Hydra-Abteilung'(*3)._

_"See for yourself," he responded, gesturing to the desk's surface. Zola stepped warily closer and shifted the black and white photographs laid over top each other, the subject within the white borders Erskine._

Steve's shoulders tensed at the advert of Schmidt's machinations.

_He lifted one for closer inspection as Schmidt stated, "You disapprove."_

_"I just don't see why you need concern yourself – I can't imagine he'll succeed-" His entertained smile fell at the other's inhalation, and he added awkwardly, "…again."_

Natasha rolled her eyes at the man's flustered following.

_"His serum is the Allies' only defense against this power we now possess – if we take it away from them, then our victory is assured."_

_He remained quiet before deciding on agreement and suggesting, "Shall I give the order?"_

_"It has been given."_

_"Good," he answered, turning and moving to exit._

_"Dr. Zola!" He stopped and looked back, Schmidt flicking on the bright spotlights. "What do you think?"_

_He stared at him before walking to examine the painting while composing himself, concluding, "A masterpiece."_

"Exaggerated shadows teasing the villain's appearance, come on," Tony whined. "We'll see why he's named Red Skull eventually, right?"

"It sounds self-explanatory," Bruce contributed.

* * *

**(*) Before the MDI for administering asthma medication in 1955, there was the electric nebulizer which used the power of an electrical compressor created in the '30s. Since this was an expensive development though, people continued to utilize the simple and cheaper hand-driven nebulizer (though the primitive device was fragile and unreliable). Adrenaline Chloride/Epinephrine was used at the time as a bronchial muscle relaxant so to reverse constriction.**

**(**) _Die Walküre _is a three act opera, second of the four from the German cycle _Der Ring des Nibelungen_, 'The Ring of the Nibelung', by Richard Wagner. 'The Valkyrie' is based on Norse Mythology, drawing from the story of the Valkyries who are the female figures that decide which soldiers who have died are ferried to Valhalla.**

**(*3) _'Hydra-Abteilung'_ is German for 'HYDRA-Section', the division paralleling the 'Storm-Section' of advanced forces that Hilter enabled within the Nazis of WWII.**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: The details of the second and third *notes* I found ridiculously fascinating ;P**

**Drop a review and let me know what you think!**


	4. Adrenaline

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own the movie **_**Captain America: The First Avenger **_**or any of its characters, nor those of **_**MARVEL'S The Avengers**_** – I am just borrowing them for play.**

* * *

_**Cementing Heritage**_

**_-~S~-_**

_Chapter Four: Adrenaline_

"_I know this neighbourhood," Steve voiced as buildings were passed, men striding alongside women over the sidewalks as children ran across them, he and Peggy driven over the road. "I got beat up in that alley," he continued with a point, then nodded and added, "and that parking lot." He lowered his gaze. "And behind that diner."_

"Most people note things like houses, restaurants, shops…" Natasha remarked, distancing herself from the experiences that proved as milestones in Steve's life before the serum.

"_Did you have something against running away?" she questioned curiously._

_He opened his mouth and shook his head, but began again, declaring, "You start running, they'll never let you stop. You stand up, you push back – can't say no forever, right?"_

The truth of that reasoning resonated in the occupants of the room, the thought underlining the rebellious actions of each. From validating trick shots from the seemingly antiquated bow and arrow to persevering in innovation for individual incentive despite father-figures' mandates, or protecting potent genetic material from ambitious military personnel. To proving loyal despite manipulations previously wielded against any directed towards, to overturning experience to stand against unjust findings, or obstinately fighting stereotypes in favour of exploring a unique character. The Captain's words impressed the six on his sides.

"_I know a little of what that's like," she agreed, "to have every door shut in your face."_

The contest of gender equality was ongoing currently, nevermind the opposition she would have faced mid-twentieth century.

_He fleetingly cast his gaze over her before inhaling and wondering, "I guess I just don't know why you'd want to join the army if you were a beautiful dame."_

Tony choked on a laugh as Steve flushed.

_His eyes were out the window before he turned back and stuttered to improve his wording, "Or a beau- A woman. An agent – not a dame." At her furrowed brow and probing stare he attempted to backtrack further, "You are beautiful but-" He gestured helplessly-_

"Great recovery," Clint snickered.

_-and capitulated to her judgement._

"_You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" she asked rhetorically._

"_I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one," he admitted with a self-depreciating smile-_

"Should give you lessons," Tony muttered.

"I'm fine without them," Steve countered, imagining the ordeal of the playboy's instruction.

"Eloquence would be an aid to your position of command," Loki enticed.

The two smirked as the Captain stated warily, "I'm not sure I like you two teaming up."

_-elaborating, "Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on."_

"_You must have danced."_

"_Well, asking a woman to dance always seemed so terrifying, and in the past few years, just didn't seem to matter that much – figured I'd wait."_

"_For what?"_

_He tilted his head briefly in consideration, eyes forward, before definitively nodding and answering, "The right partner."_

_She smiled softly._

"Ugh, romantic." Tony rolled his eyes. The fact was, though, that the period of history they were able to view was intimately paralleled with the behaviour of that of modern society. The decades passed tended to be dramatized and romanticized, reflecting back like looking upon another species, one with different patterns of behaviour. But this disc was displaying how the people were the same, how most men's outlook on women was the same. Steve was an exception in his idealistic romantic notions then just as he was now.

_The car pulled up to an antique store and parallel parked by the curb, 'BROOKLYN ANTIQUES' emblazoned on the storefront. Steve stepped from the vehicle to Peggy's following, and then she turned to walk towards the doors with an instructive, 'This way.'_

_Men loitering by other cars noted them inconspicuously, Steve asking, "What are we doing here?"_

"Going in in uniform isn't obvious at all," Clint drawled sarcastically.

"Stealth bases and operations have seriously improved," Natasha added.

"_Follow me," she merely said. Above the shop's displays there were extolled, 'ANTIQUES: Bought and Sold; We Buy Antiques; WATCHES & CLOCKS; COLLECTABLES: Specialists in Rare Time Pieces.'_

_A bell rang as she pushed through the entrance, the dark interior lit only by scattered lamps and the daylight streaming in as she halted and Steve carefully shut the door to another ring. An elderly woman walked into the space from the curtained-off back area, greeting,_

"_Wonderful weather this morning, isn't it?"_

"_Yes," Peggy agreed, mentioning, "but I always carry an umbrella."_

_The woman turned from them to stand behind the counter, pressing the small white button secured underneath the surface with her pinky finger, an automatic rifle attached within easy reach as well._

"It's like watching a spy movie," Bruce remarked.

_Peggy stepped through the curtains to bypass the wall to her left, upon which hung empty, ornate frames, and the desk in front of her, Steve trailing after before he stood at her side with cabinet supporting piles of aged books behind. Shelves laden with neatly packed books covered the wall in front of them, and they faced it for a few seconds before the bookcases swung forward like a pair of double doors and revealed a hidden grey corridor._

"A bad one," Tony appended.

_Steve looked from side to side in wonder as Peggy walked forward, stepping to her side as the doors shut behind them and they moved past a desk where on the wall a couple of signs declared, 'SSN CONTROLLED AREA: ONLY AUTHORIZED PERSONS TO PROCEED PAST THIS POINT'. MP and others were stationed within the pristine halls before a pair of doors was opened before them and Steve stood at the rail overlooking the scientists and machinery he was to wade into. The ambient conversation ceased as each turned to gaze up at him for a moment, and he faced Peggy who met his eyes with her own serious-minded look._

_She turned with a deep inhalation and began to lead him down the stairs to the lower level, movement continuing as Erskine met him by the foot of an open pod with a calm 'Good morning,' shaking his hand. A bright flash emit from the camera a soldier held as he took a picture before Erskine bid, "Please, not now."_

_Peggy brushed aside the curls of her bangs and then clasped her hands in front of her, Steve staring along the length of the device worked around a bed-like slab with walls and lid leant open._

Bruce and Tony examined the mechanics of the case and room in desperate want of understanding, the engineer ordering, "J, capture and enhance images of that thing. I want a 3-D hologram to work with."

"I'm sorry, sir, but my recordings appear blurred," the AI replied.

'What?' Loki questioned as Tony cursed, crossing his arms. "Forgot about that."

"The first letter said we wouldn't be able to record anything," Natasha explained.

"But that was Asgardian stuff," Tony countered. "This isn't that sensitive – figured Frigga would've dropped the protections."

Loki hummed in thought as to the information he was lacking, but decided it was of secondary concern as he was the subject of the first disc and therefore privy to the events of importance (those of the past) anyway. He tilted his head at the constructions on the screen before concluding, "I can't create an image of its workings either."

"That was a possibility?" Steve asked.

"Well, there was the thought that I could maneuver around the defences – but she has spent more time on them than I and all I know was taught from her hand. I would be able to discern the exact components of the whole arrangement if I had been the one to assemble the disc though."

"Really?"

"Yes. Collecting the perspectives of the past through one of the individuals involved, reaching through time to accumulate the events, would give access to the mentalities of all those connected."

"So, hypothetically, you could redo this disc and map out the blueprints and serum that enhanced Steve?" Bruce interrogated.

"Well, I could," Loki started, "but the degree of magic we're talking about isn't exactly accessible from my core at the moment. Also, Frigga hindered this for a reason – it's likely the avenue she accessed through Steven is defended in foresight of this discussion."

"Ugh, what the hell," Tony swore. "Okay, everyone just pay attention and I'll snatch you up later to see what we get."

"_Are you ready?" the scientist asked._

_He nodded unsteadily._

"_Good. Take off your shirt, your tie, and your hat," he instructed. Steve raised his hands glancingly over the articles in question as he looked over his shoulder at Peggy, then obeyed while she turned her head behind with an amused quirk to her lips. He handed the items to a nurse that approached him._

A nervous energy permeated the atmosphere of the room at the expectancy of the augmentation.

_In the observation room above, Phillips welcomed, "Senator Brandt, glad you could make it," clasping his hand in a firm shake._

"_Why exactly am I in Brooklyn?" he inquired._

"_We needed access to the city's power grid, 'course if you'd have given me the generators I requisitioned…"_

"_A lot of people are asking for funds, Colonel," he defended. "Oh, this is Clem, uh…" he started as he gestured to the younger man wearing glasses that had turned towards their conversation._

Steve clenched his hands into fists to the assassins and Loki's note.

"_Fred Clemson, State Department," he met as he reached out a hand, Phillips accepting it. "If this project of yours comes through, we'd like to see it used for something other than headlines."_

"_Jesus," Brandt swore as he gazed through the glass. "Somebody get that kid a sandwich."_

Agreement reverberated in the thoughts of Steve's teammates, Bruce wondering at the change in metabolic consumption and the difference in food intake but electing to question the Captain over their next meal instead of disturbing the charged environment.

_Steve stepped up to the side of the pod before turning to sit on the edge of the flat surface, vertebrae and shoulder blades pressing at the skin of his back as he used his arms to shift his body and lay down. He adjusted his head and wriggled for a moment before Erskine moved to his side and asked, 'Comfortable?'_

_His sternum and ribs strained as he breathed, looking down at the length his small body left unoccupied and smirking before replying, "It's a little big." Erskine chuckled. "You save me any of that schnapps?"_

_He averted his eyes and admitted, "Not as much as I should have – sorry. Next time." Then he called out, "Mr. Stark, how are your levels?"_

Tony pursed his lips.

"_Levels at one hundred percent," Howard responded as he circled to Steve's side as Erskine adjusted his glasses with a 'Good,' walking away. "We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready… As we'll ever be." Steve's expression morphed into one of anxiety before he turned away and breathed, now with a harness strapped over his midriff._

It was easy for Tony to be angry with Howard on Steve's behalf, the man not allaying any of the younger's fears. It was righteous indignation, not bitterness at his presence by the blond's side signifying an influence to his view that would impair Tony's childhood.

"_Agent Carter?" Erskine asked as he gestured upwards, "Don't you think you'd be more comfortable in the booth?"_

"_Oh, yes – of course, sorry," she said with a bashful smile as she turned, the scientist repeating, 'Good.' Steve watched as she stepped away, Peggy pausing to send him an encouraging look before continuing. He turned his gaze to the ceiling._

"Is romance a major genre in this?" Tony derided, the first instance of ridicule available latched onto.

_Erskine flicked the head of the microphone he held, a thud sounding twice before feedback screeched over the PA system to wincing above. "Do you hear me? Is this on? Ladies and gentlemen, today, we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace."_

_Mechanical arms lowered with thick plates attached to wiring and were placed over Steve's chest, a pair of scientists drawing a preservation chamber forward behind as Erskine continued, "We begin with a series of microinjections into the- subject's major muscle groups." Seven vials with thick blue liquid were revealed as the vessel was opened, six carefully removed. Peggy was offered a seat above before Clemson took the chair behind her. "The serum-infusion will cause immediate cellular change, and then, to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays." Nurses placed three vials of the serum on each side of the pod Steve was lying in-_

Bruce leaned back and raised a hand to his chin as Tony pulled a glass panel from underneath the coffee table and began logging the directives through the interactive interface.

_-before the top of his left arm was swabbed and a thin needle pressed into his shoulder briefly._

_Erskine stood at his side as he scrunched his face, the syringe removed and a wad of cotton forced down before taken away. "That wasn't so bad," Steve commented._

"_That was Penicillin," Erskine stated to Steve's fretful gaze, the doctor helplessly shrugging as he raised his eyebrows. He turned and announced, counting down, "Serum infusion beginning in five…" Phillips and Peggy inhaled deeply from the observation deck. "Four…" Additional metal plates with sharp pricks of needles swung to press into Steve's upper arms. "Three…" He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as he said, "Two," and then, "…one."_

_A lever was shifted up, the blue liquid of the serum draining out of the vials and through the tubing. Steve's muscles pulsed as they were injected, his teeth gritting as he grunted and squeezed his eyes shut, furrowing his brow before his eyes flashed open abruptly. "Now, Mr. Stark," Erskine instructed._

_Howard pulled down a level topped in red, the pod Steve was laying in shifting with a whir from horizontal to vertical. Bright lights shone within before being obscured as the panelling of the sides swung around, the top piece lowering and the device encasing Steve. Peggy swallowed nervously as heavy tubing was lifted and locked onto the top of the pod, Erskine stepping forward to knock on the exterior._

"_Steven? Can you hear me?" he asked as he peeked through the glass panel down at Steve._

"_It's probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?" he retorted-_

Thor chuckled to lessen some of the agitation coiled in his muscles.

_-Erskine nodding to the scientist behind before turning away with a smirk._

"_We will proceed."_

_Howard moved to another section of the extensive control panelling, twisting a dial from zero to the halfway point of four-hundred._

_Senator Brandt glanced to Phillips as the experiment proceeded, Phillips pursing his lips in apprehension._

_Howard unfolded a pair of tinted glasses and then grasped a wheel, wrenching it clockwise to increase the Vita-ray output. "That's ten percent," he announced as a bright light emanated from inside the pod, Erskine and the nurses flanking it raising a hand to shield their eyes. "Twenty percent... Thirty." The shine concentrated further. "That's forty percent."_

"_Vital signs are normal," the man monitoring one of the screens reported._

"_That's fifty percent. Sixty… Seventy-"_

_A yell suddenly erupted from within the apparatus, building before cutting off, Peggy darting from her seat as Clemson leaned forward with furrowed brow._

'Woah, what?' Tony said as Thor asked, 'What's happening?', Clint uttering an apt 'shit'.

_Steve shouted again as Erskine rushed forward, calling, 'Steven! Steven!'_

"_Shut it down!" Peggy ordered as she leaned over the rail above._

"_Steven!" he screamed, banging on the pod as she repeated, 'Shut it down!'_

"_Kill the reactor, Mr. Stark!" Erskine commanded with a point as he turned to run to him. "Turn it off- Kill it! Kill the reactor!" Howard stumbled to another set of controls before another voice interjected._

"_No!" Erskine whipped around to the pod the same as others' stares. "Don't!" Steve cried rapidly upon hearing the commotion over his screams. "I can do this!"_

Loki hit Thor's shoulder and demanded, "Hit him for me." Thor grasped the Captain around the shoulders as an alternative and pulled him into an embrace.

"You should not be so willing for injury to come to you," the god asserted.

"I'm not – I just-" Steve objected, extracting himself from the perceived unwarranted hold.

"You are," Natasha supported.

"I can take it."

"That self-sacrificing attitude's going to get you killed," Loki declared.

_Erskine hesitated for a second before quickly turning back to Howard, the man striding back to the wheel to continue increasing the Vita-rays. Peggy's breathing remained frantic as Howard pronounced, "Eighty." Phillips winced as the glare of the light caused most to avert their eyes. "Ninety." The hand of the dial was forced to the end of the scarlet area. "That's one hundred percent."_

_The panels emit faint wisps of steam as the electricity of the machine hummed, sparks shooting from the controls to Howard's flinching as all of the people in the space stared at the blinding glow at the top of the case. There were flashes of ignition as circuits shorted in hasty succession of one another, and then the room fell into darkness as the mechanism powered down._

_Peggy and Erskine stared as those above stood in anticipation, Howard removing the glasses shielding his eyes as he gaped before Erskine summoned brusquely, "Mr. Stark?" The panelling of the pod was opened._

_Steve stood collapsed against the padding of the back, chest heaving as he panted. The nape of his neck now supported by the length of the arrangement, he stood over a foot taller, shoulders broader with wide biceps and triceps leading to his arms, and pectorals, abdomen, and obliques sculpting his torso before his long, powerful legs stretched down._

'_Steven, Steven,' Erskine hushed as he grabbed one of his arms and helped him down, the blond's eyes closed as he panted. Excited mutterings ensued above at the sight, the men gathered standing and exiting to Phillips' huffing and disbelieving, "The son of a bitch did it." Clemson smirked before rising as well, a slim silver case slipping from his pocket onto his chair._

Eyes narrowed in suspicion.

_Steve gasped as he was steadied, an arm around Erskine and Howard's shoulders as he was supported with their hands on his back and core, another scientist aiding and nurses close._

"_I did it," Steve managed, sweat glistening at the base of his neck._

"_Yeah, yeah," Erskine agreed, "I think we did."_

"_You actually did it," Howard uttered, eyes widened._

_Peggy pushed through the throng gathered around him to dart her eyes over him, breathing deeply as she looked up at him to question, "How do you feel?"_

_He stared disoriented at his surroundings as he gathered himself to stand of his own volition, gasping, "Taller."_

'_Oh,' she muttered, one of her hands drawn up to the musculature of his chest before she immediately lowered it with an 'um,' and grasped one of the shirts a nurse held in a pile at her side. "You look taller," she recovered, unfolding the clothing and holding it out for him._

Clint and Tony laughed.

"_How d'you like Brooklyn now, Senator?" Phillips quipped as he passed him._

"_I can think of some folks in Berlin who are about to get very nervous," he retorted. Clemson loitered at the fringe as the senator said, 'Congratulations, Doctor,' turning to look back up towards the empty observation deck. 'Thank you, sir,' Erskine responded as he shook his hand in the crowd, before his eye was caught by Clemson. The man reached into his pocket to flip open a lighter to the doctor's disconcerted stare, and then upon the press of his thumb the device left above exploded._

"He's one of HYDRA's, isn't he?" Bruce queried rhetorically.

_Flames shot through the space as glass rained down, the men and women below ducking. Phillips rose behind Erskine, who was already facing Clemson as he lifted a gun and grasped the last vial of the serum. "Stop him!" Erskine shouted, and then two rounds were fired into his chest and he fell forward._

Postures straightened in shock in contrast to Steve's slumped shoulders.

_A woman screamed at the shots as the group tried to move to cover, Steve clambering to his side in panic as Clemson ran up the stairs. He shot the MP officer in his path as Peggy fired a shot that drilled into his arm before he managed to escape from the room. Steve turned Erskine onto his back to the doctor's groan, Clemson dashing through the halls to shoot another armed man before slamming the red button on the desk by the exit. Peggy ran up the stairs in pursuit as Steve furrowed his brow in denial of Erskine's fatal injuries, the doctor merely lifting a hand as the blond struggled internally. He pointed at Steve's heart in reminder of his character, before his head fell to the side as he died._

_Steve raised his head slowly as he clenched his jaw, sharp eyes fixed on the path Clemson had run._

_Above, Clemson tore through the curtains that blocked the back room and entrance from view, facing the rifle the older woman held in hand and shooting her before she could defend herself. The automatic weapon fired as her finger pulled the trigger, her body collapsing. He stowed the serum inside his jacket as he grabbed her gun, slipping out the front door, bellowing, "Move it! Move it!" He crashed past a man on the sidewalk before one in front of him yelled, 'Get down!' waving him past._

_Two others fired shots at them from a storefront on the other side of the antique shop, Clemson's ally felled as he ducked into a car behind him. The two continued to attack as the vehicle pulled away, Clemson firing the rifle as he was driven by, the rounds shattering the windows of the car in front of them before hitting them. Peggy rushed out as they drove down the street, Clemson clutching his arm in pain as she aimed with her handgun._

_Clemson turned and detonated one of the cars parked on the curb, the explosion pulling her attention until she discerned the lack of current threat and turned back. She stood firm, aimed, and fired._

_Her shot pierced through the rear window and went through the driver's head, his skull hitting the windshield as his body was flung forward and the vehicle now manned by a corpse._

Clint and Natasha raised eyebrows at the marksmanship.

_The car swerved to crash into the side of a taxi, the driver stepping out as Clemson did and circling to ask the limp driver, 'What are you doing? Buddy, are you all right? Hey, this guy's been shot!' as Clemson moved into the cab and drove back with tires squealing._

_Peggy remained standing in the middle of the road with handgun raised as Clemson drove towards her, firing two rounds that pierced the windshield on either side of his head as he flinched. The cab approached to her resolute position, her next shot aimed and fired at close range just as Steve burst from the store and tackled her away from the impact of the vehicle, altering the bullet's trajectory._

_The two landed on the surface of the street to the side of the cab's force, Peggy shrieking, "I had him!" as they climbed to their feet._

"_Sorry!" he apologized as he clambered in the direction of the car, rising up to run haltingly because of the length of his strides and lack of lung constriction before straightening and dashing faster in pursuit._

_At the sight of the cab screeching through a left turn, Steve banked left through an alley, watching the car's progress through the streets. Crossing a road, he moved to turn right but had accrued too much speed and sailed through the window of the storefront display opposite him._

Loki rather thought the adaptation to his lengthened limbs and increased mass and power great compared to the resultant awkwardness of a new body, of which he had firsthand knowledge.

"_I'm sorry!" he stuttered as he leaped through the wreckage back onto the road, the front of Audrey's BRIDALWEAR in ruins to a man's uttered, 'Unbelievable!'_

_He darted through the streets in chase, regaining momentum down another alleyway before a locked gate blocked the end in the distance. He lengthened his strides before throwing himself up and forward in a jump that cleared the height of the obstruction as he lunged over. He landed with a grunt onto his bare feet to the wail of tires as he crossed the street before vehicles' honking, exclaiming, 'Woahwoahwoah woah, woah woah,' as he held his hands out to them and ran across._

_Clemson noticed his form in the rear view mirror in befuddlement, turning to look back over his shoulder before swerving through the other vehicles on the road. Steve surged to spring onto the hood and then roof of a car in front of him, then bounded from one vehicle to the next as he followed the cab. Landing on the open box of a truck, he flung himself sideways onto the roof of the taxi. Clemson stared at the roof of the interior at the thud, then weaved the vehicle to loosen Steve's extended hold of the car. He banked sharply left and through an alley to Steve's scrabbling before pulling out again and deciding to raise his gun and shoot through the ceiling._

_The rounds punctured the roof to Steve's dodging and covering his face with an arm, his body toppling sideways to hang onto the passenger side before Clemson turned to shoot through the window. A heavy truck entered unnoticed before the car to Clemson's frantic jerking of the steering wheel, the cab T-boned and flung to roll roof over axel as Steve released his hold and threw himself up. He landed in a roll behind a door that had been torn off, the taxi landing roughly right-side up before Clemson grunted and threw himself out of it as well._

_He pitched his eyes around as he crawled to his feet, raising his gun to fire a shot to Steve ducking before turning towards the group of bystanders that had screamed behind him. He swung back to impede Steve, firing two rounds that hit the face of the car door he had lifted as a shield, and then lurched towards the mother who was pulling her son to the side before him. "Move- Move!" he yelled as he wrenched the boy from her, the woman shrieking, 'No! No, not my son! No!' The child shouted, 'Stop it!' as she continued, 'Don't hurt him!' as she was pulled back by her husband._

Loki barred his teeth and others snarled or cussed under their breath.

_Steve clutched at a stitch in his ribs as Clemson warned, "Get back!" the boy held about the waist as he aimed the gun. 'Let me go!' the boy yelled as he struggled, the woman screaming in the background, 'Don't hurt him – no!'_

'_No!' the boy fought again as the mother repeated, 'No, my son!' Clemson turned and ran a distance before whipping back to shoot at Steve, the blond ducking behind one of the large iron weights abandoned at the side of the pier before raising his eyes above cautiously. 'No! Don't hurt him!' He darted forward as Clemson wrestled with the boy around the corner, Steve leaning his head around before Clemson pressed the muzzle of the gun against the boy's temple._

"_Wait, don't! Don't," Steve implored as he jumped into the open, raising his hands in supplication._

Eyes were narrowed at the vulnerable position.

_Clemson turned the gun on him and pulled the trigger, but a click echoed at the empty barrel. He groaned in annoyance and hauled the boy to the edge of the water, Steve pleading again, "No- Don't!" as the child was thrown in._

_Clemson glanced back before beginning to run again, Steve turning from him to lean over the edge. "Go get him! I can swim!" the boy called, paddling to a lower vantage point as Steve raced away._

Shoulders loosened at the child's distance from the crossfire.

_Clemson pushed a button on his lighter and a single man ship rose out of the formerly calm surface of the water ahead of him. Grey and cylindrical, curving to a point on either end with a smaller addition flanking its sides for direction and buoyancy, the clear-panelled covering of the cockpit lifted for his entrance. He grasped the controls and sealed himself within as Steve ran along the pier, the ship propelled forward before submerging completely._

_Steve leaped with arms spread before bringing his hands together to dive into the water, immediately swimming behind the submarine as it rumbled through the dim expanse of liquid. Clemson focused on steering as Steve swam up behind him, kicking his legs furiously to reach and grab the sharp protrusion on the top of the ship and swing his fist around through one of the windows. Clemson flinched before gasping in a lungful of air as water flooded the small compartment, Steve dragging the lid of the cockpit up before grabbing the back of Clemson's jacket and pushing up from the submarine as he flailed in his hold._

_Clemson was bodily thrown from the water to land on the pier with an aborted yell, Steve climbing the ladder after as he gasped and turned at the blond's approach to swipe at his midsection with a knife. Steve knocked him to the ground, the blade and serum from inside his jacket flung to the stone. The glass of the latter shattered and the blue serum seeped onto the ground. Clemson lay on his back with Steve above, wrenching him forward by his lapels._

"_Who the hell are you?" he interrogated._

"_The first of many," he answered. "Cut off one head," Clemson dislodged a fake incisor from its socket with his tongue and bit down on it, "two more, shall take its place." Foam gathered in his mouth at the cyanide pill, and he choked out, "Hail HYDRA," before convulsing and dying._

_Steve breathed heavily as gulls chattered overhead, pausing in the still moment to stare down in awe at his panting chest and powerful arms._

"We should… take a break – before Tony makes fun of me being a chorus girl," Steve suggested, standing from the couch and exiting to his half of the floor.

"Right," Tony stated slowly.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**Drop a reviewing and let me know what you think!**


	5. Inexact

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own the movie **_**Captain America: The First Avenger **_**or any of its characters, nor those of **_**MARVEL'S The Avengers**_** – I am just borrowing them for play.**

* * *

_**Cementing Heritage**_

**_-~S~-_**

_Chapter Five: Inexact_

"Can we drink now?" Tony questioned as he moved from the couch, Thor frowning at his back.

"We should talk to him and provide comfort," the god insisted.

"I don't do comfort."

"Walking away seems more like an 'I want to be alone' sorta vibe," Clint said.

"Well I'm going to update Peps," Tony broadcast as he strode towards the elevator, hands in his pockets.

"I am staying here for if he needs me," Thor announced. Tony flipped him off as the elevator doors closed.

"Let's gloss over that," Natasha interjected, though the blond's glaring was due to the impression of a slight and not knowledge of what exactly the hand gesture conveyed. "I think Steve needs some space right now – he'll seek us out when he needs us."

"So we hang out here?" Clint asked.

"And do something for dinner," Bruce remarked.

_**-~S~-**_

Tony strode through the administrative offices of the fifth floor to find Pepper leaning over the shoulder of one of the temps, technically a representative of the executive assistant to one of the Board members. He seemed to be indicating an area of development of which Pepper was supporting the basis of additional funds. The two came to an arrangement before Tony was near enough to intervene, and she straightened to spot him and greet, "Mr. Stark."

The temp echoed the address, but he disregarded it in favour of bidding Pepper, "I believe we've some issues to discuss, Ms. Potts." She smiled slightly and excused herself, following him back towards the elevator. He mentioned as they entered, "You should end your day earlier – I always find you with piles of admin things."

"That's more of a reason to stay late," she responded before excusing, "I'm still reorienting myself with everything we missed."

"We came back from Asgard like a week ago."

"But we were gone for three. The next time you decide to kidnap me, warn me ahead of time."

"Then it's hardly a kidnapping, is it?" he retorted. "Have you even used any of your vacation days? You really should-"

"I just did – to travel to a Norse-god-dimension."

"That hardly counts as a 'vacation'," he muttered. "More an all-expenses-paid month of stress."

"Why did you pick me up, anyway?" she asked, curious as they exited onto their suite on the top floor. "Did something happen?"

"Do you think me so self-absorbed that something has to be wrong for me to pay some attention to you?" He pouted in mock wretchedness as he turned to her on the threshold of their bedroom, her laughter sounding while she rolled her eyes.

He carelessly stripped off his tee and shucked his pants as she removed her heels, then rumpled her shirt and skirt as he pulled her onto the bed. She tugged her hair free from its ponytail and then folded her arms on his chest under her chin to ask, "Chinese or Thai?"

"Definitely Thai," he said with a smile.

"The usual?" Jarvis questioned.

"Yep," he met as Pepper revisited, 'Though add some spring rolls.'

_**-~S~-**_

Steve didn't intend to completely isolate himself from his team, because he didn't actually want to be alone. He did need some space to himself, though, now that the anxieties about the revelations of his life before the serum had passed, and what remained were the battles, and losses… He stood at the door that separated his half from the common, leaning his head back and listening to the faint sounds of the others, now having moved over to Thor's side.

_Tony took pains to replace the bedframes so they couldn't be broken accidentally, but he didn't exactly have time to redo the insulation of the walls to turn 'soundproof' into soundproof for those with advanced hearing – though he would've if he'd thought about it._

The construction was done well enough that he had to strain to hear anything aside from normal speech, though, so he wasn't going to bring it up. The ambient sounds of the living space adjacent and those above were comforting, easing him from the silence he couldn't remember suffocating him in his imagination of the ice. He stepped further into the area and passed the kitchen, sitting on the edge of his bed.

There was a bookcase to his right, set to the side of the doorway to the adjoining bath, and his eyes roved over the titles on the spines just as they had each time he had been ensconced in his rooms on his own. He had picked up a few of the texts before, thick things filled with general facts. Tony had selected, or had had selected for him, history, technological, science, art, pop culture, religious, and law books to try to get him accustomed to at least the basest facts of the advances in the seventy years from which he had been absent. Even after spending so much time actively living with the team, he wasn't sure whether he preferred trying to adjust with or without the company.

_Yeah, I was sort of cramming the information into my head when not trying to avoid the reality of it when in Brooklyn, but at least when I took breaks to distance myself I could go out and lose myself in the people, in the crowds. I could go my own pace. Here, I don't feel so bad when Thor's as lost as I am, but I'm always in contact with SHIELD and the team and the feel and images of what brought us together and dealing with Loki – who's keeping us together – and if I don't adjust to everything in the meantime maybe I never will. I'll just coast through dealing with SHIELD's messes and managing Tony and working the relationship with Asgard- …'The man out of time,' truly…_

He sighed and strode out of his half, continuing on into Thor's to be greeted by Clint and Natasha slicing and sorting vegetables and crackers at the island. He raised an eyebrow and the god, seated facing the two, grinned at his entrance. Thor's concern for Steve was worsened in the back of his mind because of his lessened knowledge of the events of his life, the only fact he really had to work with that of the Captain being frozen and suspended in time for a mortal lifetime before being woken again, so he hailed jovially, 'Steve!' when he sought the group out.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked as he sat on one of the unoccupied bar stools, facing the kitchen counters and Bruce's back. The scientist opened a can of chickpeas alongside a bottle of oil and a jar of tahini, Loki having lifted himself to sit on the worktop out of the way.

"Improvising some hummus*," he answered, Natasha adding,

"It's an appetizer, a dip usually for pitas but vegetables work with it. We ordered Greek for dinner."

"Question: would you have wanted beef, chicken, lamb, or pork for souvlaki*?" Clint questioned as he ate a cracker from the display he was 'arranging'.

"Uh… Beef?" Steve said uncertainly to Clint rolling his eyes, Natasha and Loki smirking smugly.

"Damn, guessed chicken," he muttered, Thor remarking, 'I thought pork.'

"We ordered beef for you," Bruce interjected. "We ended up with a variety, though, so figured we could always trade if anyone didn't like anything."

"Jarvis relayed a delivery time of twenty minutes-" Loki commented, a pointed glance sent towards the ingredients the brunet was mashing in a bowl, "-you've five minutes to finish that."

"It's almost done, and it's not like everyone's going to disappear with their food."

"No, but the definition of an appetizer is to be a starter, consumed before the main meal-"

Steve smiled slightly at the exchange, attempting to separate from the adrift and forlorn emotions curling in his chest at not only the commonplace exotic food but the accessibility to food in general that he had never experienced in the time period before waking.

_**-~S~-**_

"Tony," Pepper chastised as the elevator doors opened and she stepped through with a take-out bag, "since when have you added shrimp?"

"I dunno – wanted to try something new and it was delicious," he responded, reclined on the bed with a laptop on his bare abdomen and black pants creased where his ankles were crossed.

"You already add peanut sauce to a dish with a base of cashew nuts, but beef and shrimp?"

"Beef and shrimp are BFFs – surf and turf, come on," he objected.

She sighed and crawled onto the bed, sitting cross-legged in soft shorts and shirt halfway buttoned to ask with a nod to the glow of his arc reactor, "How does that not glare off the screen?"

"Just have to up the brightness," he shrugged, shifting further upright and placing the computer lower on the mattress.

She noted the contents of the display with a raised eyebrow as she unpacked their food, leading, "And you're looking up Peggy Carter's nursing home because…"

"Because Cap shouldn't be avoiding her when she's the only one alive and they can reconnect and chat and shit."

"She's ninety years old, Tony," she defended. "Maybe he thinks it would be too hard for him if she didn't remember."

"No guts no glory."

_**-~S~-**_

Tony and Pepper took the elevator to the 91st once they had eaten, Tony interrupting the light conversation over the group's Mediterranean meal when he rushed into the kitchen. "Shift into the living room, guys – we're finishing this tonight."

"Hi," Pepper waved, pretending her partner hadn't spoken and there weren't expressions of disbelief turned to him. "Did you order a mass amount of souvlaki or did someone get creative?"

Clint replied, 'Souvlaki all the way,' as Bruce mentioned, "I contemplated the gyro*."

"Innovative points should be awarded for making hummus," Loki pointed out, folded on top of the counter and wrapping two skewers' worth of meat into a pita to smother in the spread.

"Bruce is able to invent anything conceived!" Thor applauded as Tony dipped a carrot in the mixture.

"We just ate Thai!" she scolded him.

"I support multiculturalism," he quipped before moaning at the taste of the hummus. "-and Bruce making things. You're confined to the kitchen."

Steve chuckled at Bruce's look, his face flushed at the compliment yet his brows furrowed in offense at being jokingly kept for his cooking. The blond, Loki, and Thor were still in the midst of eating, but the others continued to pick at the leftover amount of food that had been ordered, so Steve agreed, "Okay, let's move."

The benefits of a distraction begged for in preoccupation with the foodstuffs couldn't be ignored.

The eight settled into the couch, the glass coffee table pulled into the corner where Steve and Thor sat for easy access to the food laid atop. Bruce took the seat beside the Captain, Pepper lying with her feet tucked under his cushion and against Tony who was leant on the arm. Natasha sat beside Thor, and Clint was between her and Loki; the dark god was on the same end as before though now controlled access to the dips and pitas he had gathered.

"Roll it, J," Tony commanded.

_A couple of rows of HYDRA troops marched through a rounded hall lit with fluorescents while in the adjacent hall an accented male voice warned, 'The Führer is not accustomed to being ignored, Herr Schmidt.'_

_Another added, "He funds your research because you promised him weapons."_

"_You serve- at his pleasure. He gave you this facility as a reward for your injuries."_

'Injuries?' Bruce mouthed to Tony, who shrugged a shoulder.

_Schmidt strode with three German officers behind, countering dismissively, "Reward? Call it what it is – exile." One slowed in front of the HYDRA logo emblazoned in crimson on a black banner hung on the wall as he continued, "I no longer reflect his image of Aryan perfection." The same man turned to an agent standing guard by the wall, observing him from head to toe before his armed head looked down to him and he moved on._

"_You think this is about appearances? Your HYDRA division has failed to deliver so much as a rifle in over a year," the uncapped male disputed. "And, we had learned through local intelligence, you mounted a full-scale incursion into Norway."_

"_The Führer feels – how does he put it? – that the Red Skull has been indulged long enough."_

_Schmidt paused in his walk to face the elder whose chin was raised in confidence, then moved his stare to the one beside who had nodded, and then back again._

"At least he'll kill some enemies for you," Loki stated to Steve's frown.

_He exhaled and began, "Gentlemen, you have come to see the results of our work, hm?" The three met his gaze with their own superior countenances. "Let me show you."_

"Yep," Tony confirmed at Schmidt's promising lead.

_He pushed open a pair of double doors to march into a space of cylindrical containers and workers at tables, declaring, "Hitler speaks of a thousand-year Reich but he cannot feed his armies for a month-" The doors are shut behind, and he waved in gesture of the Germans fighting. "-his troops spill their blood across every field in Europe," he jerks a sheet from its covering of a long-barreled weapon and drops it to the floor, "but still he is no closer to achieving his goals."_

"_And I suppose you still aim to win this war through magic?" one retorted, smiling as he raised his palms in mockery._

"_Science," he corrected in condescension by a control board, resuming, "but I understand your confusion." Zola looked on in apprehension as Schmidt pressed buttons and turned dials to manipulate the power of the armament. "Great power has always baffled primitive men."_

'Burn,' Tony hissed as Thor contributed thoughtfully, "It can be seen as favourable that your opponents were at odds, though, yes?"

"Our side didn't exactly have all their shit together," Clint reasoned.

"_HYDRA is assembling an arsenal to destroy my enemies in one stroke, wherever they are, regardless of how many forces they possess-" He snapped his fingers."-all in a matter of hours."_

"_Your enemies?"_

"_My weapons contain enough destructive power to decimate every hostile capital on Earth," he announced, still occupied with preparing the weapon as the young man in the background stepped over to the table displaying pinned targets on the world. "Quite simply, gentlemen," Schmidt swiftly raised two fingers to point at each soldier, counting the three-_

"That's a bit obvious," Pepper discerned.

_-before turning back to recalibrate the machine, "I have harnessed the power of the gods."_

_The two cleared their throats and coughed in discomfiture, the elder enunciating, "Thank you, Schmidt."_

"_For what?"_

"_For making it clear how obviously mad you are."_

_The soldier leaning over the table traced the cities marked before finding the capital of Germany. "Berlin is on this map!" he shouted, darting to the two others._

"_So it is," he responded without care, the gun shining along the side as its mechanics whirred, the nozzle swiveling to aim at the three men._

"_You will be punished for your insolence!" he proclaimed, gesticulating angrily with his peaked cap. "You will be brought before the Führer himself-" Azure brightened as the machine fired, the young male vaporized instantly in a swirl of blue and black._

"What? It can just… disintegrate human targets?" Bruce questioned. "Some sort of high-powered plasma weapon?"

"And the bolts from the raygun can just evaporate organic material?" Tony queried in scepticism. "We should grab this guy – is Zola still alive?"

"Died in '72, some terminal illness**," Natasha answered. "And the basis of Phase 2 weaponry came from him."

"Recruited with other Nazi scientists for Operation Paperclip," Clint finished.

"Why would you accept the aid of your enemies?" Thor asked.

"Strategic value," Natasha shrugged.

"That's absurd," Loki replied, flabbergasted.

_The eyes of the eldest soldier widened as the other ducked behind to scramble for the exit, two streaks of blue missing the former as he dodged, Zola wincing. Schmidt barred his teeth in disappointment before adjusting the controls and firing again, the shot impacting the man's chest to Schmidt's nod._

_The barrel pointed to the last, unable to open the doors and flinging himself to face the gun with a screamed, 'Schmidt!' as his body was erased from existence._

"_My apologies, Doctor," Schmidt addressed Zola, "but we both knew HYDRA could grow no further in Hitler's shadow._

"_Hail HYDRA."_

_The three workers present in the middle of the room snapped their heels together and raised their fists upward, repeating, "Hail HYDRA!" before relaxing._

_Schmidt faced them in approval, then quirked an eyebrow at Zola. He gathered himself to shout weakly, "Hail HYDRA!" Schmidt smiled as he turned and walked away, Zola's eyes falling as his mouth opened and he slumped against the wall._

"See, he isn't even really that loyal to Schmidt," Tony announced. Loki rolled his eyes.

_Steve sat morosely on a medical table, eyes down as a nurse watched him carefully. She removed the needle and tubing from the crease of his elbow as he asked, "Think you got enough?" rolling the tanned sleeve of his uniform over the unnecessary bandages._

"_Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in your genetic code," Peggy responded as he stood from the table and walked to her side, though he stared past her, "but without Dr. Erskine it will take years."_

"_He deserved more than this."_

_She inhaled and lowered the papers held to her chest to gaze through them, stating, "If it could work only once, he'd be proud it was you." She offered him a small smile._

Bruce's sentiments corresponded with hers, and he presented a compassionate and encouraging expression towards Steve to the Captain's partial reassurance.

_Brant's voice echoed up through the glass Steve stood in front of. "Colonel Phillips, my committee is demanding answers."_

"_Great," he snapped as he marched past the lowered square where Howard stood before the captured submarine. "Why don't we start with how a German spy got a ride to my secret installation in your car? What do we got here?" he interrogated as he halted to face Howard._

"_Speaking modestly, I'm the best mechanical engineer in this country," he started. "But I don't know what's inside this thing, or how it works. We're not even close to this technology."_

"_Then who is?" Brandt asked._

"_HYDRA," Phillips said, then added sarcastically, "I'm sure you've been reading our briefings."_

"_I'm on a number of committees, Colonel," he justified._

"_HYDRA is the Nazi Deep Science division, it's led by Johann Schmidt," Peggy informed as she approached, her firm stride emphasizing the swing of her hips and prompting the senator to take off his hat, "but he has much bigger ambitions."_

"_HYDRA is practically a cult, they worship Schmidt – they think he's invincible," Phillips amended._

"_So what are you going to do about it?" he queried._

_Phillips turned and began, "Spoke to the president this morning – as of today, the SSR is being retasked."_

"_Colonel?" Peggy wondered at his facing her, Steve behind._

"_We are taking the fight to HYDRA. Pack your bags, Agent Carter. You, too, Stark." Howard wiped his hands on a rag in acquiesce before balling it to toss to the ground. "We're flying to London tonight."_

"_Sir," Steve interrupted before he exited, "if you're going after Schmidt, I want in."_

"_You're an experiment – you're going to Alamogordo," he countered._

_Steve exhaled before casting a glance to Peggy in commiseration and voicing, "The serum worked."_

"_I asked for an army and all I got was you. You- are not enough."_

_He walked from the room without another word._

Pepper frowned in antagonism as the others were irked at Steve being once again looked at as 'not enough'.

"_With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point," the senator broached. "I've seen you in action, Steve – more importantly, the country's seen it." He smirked. "Paper," he called with a point, the newsprint brought to him as Steve turned to look at it. "The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands," he explained. The New York Examiner headline for Wednesday, June 23, 1943 was, 'NAZIS IN NEW YORK: MYSTERY MAN SAVES CHILD,' above news of the Allies' rallying and perseverance in fighting._

"_You don't take a soldier, a symbol like that, and… hide him in a lab." Steve's shadowed eyes flicked unerringly onto him. "Son," he led with a clap on the blond's shoulder, turning him to walk with him, "do you want to serve your country, on the most important battlefield of the war?"_

"What a line," Clint said.

"_Sir, that's all I want," he professed honestly._

"_Then, congratulations." Brandt held out a hand and Steve shook it tenuously, hopeful. "You just got promoted."_

"What is with you volunteering for things without knowing _anything_ about them?" Tony objected.

"It's about intent," Steve held.

"Others aren't like you-" 'What's that supposed to mean-'

"It's just easy for people to take advantage of you," Pepper intruded, before their bickering began to accumulate, "when you volunteer for experiments."

"This wasn't an experiment," he said.

"It could have been," Thor remarked.

Clint nodded. "After the experiments of doctors in WWII, the law cracked down on human experimentation to protect people."

"I wasn't harmed any."

"But the chances you could have been? There wasn't informed consent," Natasha added.

"I consented-"

"_Informed_ consent," Tony stressed. "I'm going to quote the first law of the Nuremberg Code(*3) for you:

"'The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved… should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. This latter element requires that before the acceptance of an affirmative decision by the experimental subject there should be made known to him the nature, duration, and purpose of the experiment; the method and means by which it is to be conducted; all inconveniences and hazards reasonable to be expected; and the effects upon his health or person which may possibly come from his participation in the experiment. The duty and responsibility for ascertaining the quality of the consent rests upon each individual who initiates, directs or engages in the experiment. It is a personal duty and responsibility which may not be delegated to another with impunity.'

"So don't tell me you were informed when you didn't even know what happened to Schmidt, nevermind what the procedure included."

"Okay, okay," Steve conceded, "but it worked."

"In you, instilled some self-preservation, there will be," Clint vowed with a point.

"Hear, hear(*4)," Loki decided lowly.

_Steve furrowed his brows and exhaled in nervousness, voicing, "I don't know if I can do this."_

"That's what you get for agreeing to things."

"_Nothing to it," an agent divulged, circling to his side. "Sell a few bonds, bonds buy bullets, bullets kill Nazis. Bing, bang, boom-" He gave him a heartening slap on the back. "-you're an American hero."_

"_Just not how I pictured getting there," he uttered._

_The man nodded as a showgirl peaked through the curtains to the backstage area where they conversed. "The Senator's got a lot off pull up on the Hill. You play ball with us, you'll be leading your own platoon in no time." Steve pulled a cowl over his head as a drumroll sounded, ushered, 'Take the shield,' before a band trumpeted and he was pushed with a 'Go.'_

_A band began playing as he darted through the ranks of showgirls for the United Service Organization, his body garbed in blue with red and white stripes longwise on his abdomen, a white star in the center of his chest. His sleeves changed to white above his elbows and then there were scarlet gloves, and scarlet boots, shield held in hand with stars on blue along the flat top, above red and white stripes. A cowl covered his head with an A on the front and white wings on the side._

"_Who's strong and brave,  
here to save  
the American way?"_

_the girls sung with smiles, short dresses and caps similarly American-flag themed as they marched in white heels._

Thor furrowed his brow and recoiled slightly as Loki raised an eyebrow, the others laughing and Steve flushed.

"_Not all of us can storm a beach, or drive a tank," Steve stuttered awkwardly, "but there's still a way all of us can fight."_

"_Who vows to fight,  
like a man for what's right,  
night and day?"_

"_Series E Defense Bonds – each one you buy is a bullet in the barrel of your best guy's gun." The writing on the cards on the back of his shield was held up before he lowered them again. The girls' skirts swished over the tops of their thighs as they swiveled their hips, saluting as they sang,_

"_Who will campaign  
door-to-door for America?  
Carry the flag  
shore-to-shore for America?"_

_He was handed a baby girl from her blonde mother for a picture, her cooing and the child beginning to cry at his self-conscious hold before the pair were shepherded away. In front of a sign with him in his stage uniform, posing as Uncle Sam as he stated 'I WANT YOU to BUY bonds!', Senator Brandt stepped up to pose with him for a handshake._

"_From Hoboken to Spokane  
the Star-Spangled Man  
with a plan!"_

_He marched with stern expression, sash of bullets slung across his chest, leading six men. 'Cut!' a man called to the screen projected with forestry falling back to a countdown from eight on grey. Spotlights shone over the cameras with rolls of film braced on them, a microphone positioned above. 'Guys, don't look at the camera!'_

"_We can't ignore  
there's a threat and a war  
we must win."_

"_Each one you buy is a bullet in the barrel of your best guy's gun," he announced with a point, showgirls marching between the flanking columns topped with golden eagles._

"_Who'll hang a noose  
on the goose-  
stepping goons from Berlin?"_

_Small American flags were waved by hand over bright smiles as legs kicked out, applause sounding as he entered onto the stage. _

"_Who will redeem,  
heed the call for America?  
Who'll rise or fall,  
give his all for America?"_

_Steve bade a close-mouthed smile as the senator sat in the audience and looked around at the cheering, nodding in praise._

"_Who's here to prove that we can?  
The Star-Spangled Man  
with a plan!"_

_A male dressed in tan uniform and leather boots held a handgun as he obviously sidestepped onto the stage, dark hair slick and small mustache just over the center of his lip as Steve projected on the other side of a line of girls, "We all know this is about trying to win the war, and we can't do that without bullets and bandages, tanks and tents. That's where you come in – every bond you buy will help protect someone you love." 'Turn around!' 'He's right behind you!' a couple of children in the front row yelled to try and warn, their fingers pointing as they leaned forward. 'Turn around!' "Keep our boys armed and ready, and the Germans will think twice about trying to get the drop on us."_

_The man is revealed to have Nazi arm bands as he pushed through the line of showgirls, gun wielded to Steve reeling back a fist to swing to his face. Cymbals crashed instead of an impact, and the girls screamed when 'Hitler' was knocked onto his back. They fluttered and gasped as they clapped, the children in the front standing as they cheered._

'Oh my god, I'm dying,' Clint wheezed as he laughed, Tony guffawing as he slid further into the couch.

"_Stalwart and steady and true,  
(See how this guy can shoot?  
We tell you, there's no substitute!)"_

_In Buffalo, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Chicago cymbals sounded at each confrontation with 'Hitler', loud ovations resultant. Steve raised a hand to the crowd, and the senator looked on with a grin._

"_Forceful and ready to defend  
The red, white, and blue."_

_At a newsstand, hands rushed to hand over sufficient change for one of the comic books of the stacks, the exploits of Captain America across the pages. The young boys opened the books immediately and spoke to one another, worn copies sent to soldiers on the field to inspire._

"_Who'll give the Axis the sack  
and is smart as a fox?  
(Far as an eagle will soar)"_

_A film displayed Steve using his shield to deflect bullets before he waved his squad to follow him, tanks rolling in their wake as they moved into danger and shot furiously._

"_Who's making Adolf afraid  
to step out of his box?  
(He knows what we're fighting for)"_

_Steve huffed a bit of laughter at the sight from his seat in the theatre as those around him clapped, the version on-screen mouthing, 'Come on!' as he waved his men forward._

"_Who waked the giant  
that napped in America?  
We know it's no one  
but Captain America."_

_Men marched as they beat their drums, the women executing kicks._

"_Who'll finish what they began?"_

_Steve signed a comic book for a boy as he trot down stairs before he was faced with a blonde woman who greeted excitedly, 'Hi.' He stared at her for a second as a camera flash flared, then signed the offered paper._

_In New York City,_

"_Who'll kick the Krauts to Japan?"_

_he held a motorcycle with three showgirls overhead, their helmets emblazoned with 'U', 'S', and 'A' on a pedestal before a large red, white, and blue star, images of planes shown above._

"_The Star-Spangled Man  
with a plan!  
(Who's strong a brave,  
here to save  
the American way?)"_

_Tanks fired shots as the girls marched, kicked, and waved flags before posing under a rain of confetti, applause and whistles echoing._

* * *

_**(*) Hummus: an Arabic spread that's popular in Turkey and has been largely adopted in Greece, made of puréed chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt**_

_**Souvlaki: a popular Greek fast food, small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer  
Gyro: a Greek dish of meat, roasted on a vertical spit before shaved  
The standard fare for Greek takeout, preceded by Greek salad, available with sides of rice and potatoes, and accompanied by pitas and tzatziki (yoghurt dip seasoned with cucumber, dill, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt)**_

* * *

_**Little Thai Kitchen is the referenced Thai restaurant. You can order online, and it's a few blocks (less than a mile) NE of Stark Tower/the MetLife Building. For the Classic Entrees the choices are vegetable, tofu, chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, or squid for 'meat' and white or brown rice, the order as follows:  
Spring Rolls (2): vegetable spring rolls with sweet plum sauce  
(Tony) Cashew Nuts: beef with sautéed cashew nuts, carrots, onions, and baby corn in cashew nut sauce on brown rice +shrimp +peanut sauce  
(Pepper) Hot Garlic: vegetables with sautéed garlic, onions, and bell peppers in red chili paste on white rice**_

* * *

_**(**) Arnim Zola and EVERYTHING ELSE revealed in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I'm not going to spoil anything, because it's really not relevant. Everything's different, but the events of the Phase 2 films are not a part of this timeline.**_

_**(*3) The Nuremberg Code is a set of research ethics and principles for human experimentation, established as a result of the Nuremberg Trials at the end of WWII.  
Thank you Ms.H.B. for bringing this up, and both sides' violating of the later established ethical standards.**_

_**(*4) 'Hear, hear!' is derived from 'Hear ye, hear him!' It represents the listener's agreement to the point made by the speaker, 'hear ye,' addressing all the people to 'hear him.'**_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: You know you sang the lines of the song as I gave them ;3 Here you are! Can you tell I love cooking and am very food driven? On another note, getting a bit too crazy with the asterisks. Less bonding/emotional development than I intended, but I've an intensity planned for overnight and the next day so this movie needs to be finished.**

**E****xtended Author's Note on my profile under 'Compare and Contrast the Following' for details as to this series as of the revelations in **_**Captain America: The Winter Soldier.**_

**Drop a review and let me know what you think!**


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